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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25881115">Let's Solve a Murder, But For Real This Time</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firelizard135/pseuds/Firelizard135'>Firelizard135</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, New Game+, Time Travel, especially souji, luckily nanako's on the case</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:53:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>48,191</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25881115</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firelizard135/pseuds/Firelizard135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"...Okay. So, hypothetically, Souji can go back to... when exactly?"</p><p>"The day I arrived in Inaba."</p><p>"Okay. The day he arrived in Inaba. That means he can... fix things I guess?"</p><p>--</p><p>Months after confronting Namatame in the hospital room, Teddie is still missing, Nanako is still hospitalized, fog still covers Inaba, and the Investigation Team still have questions that were never answered.</p><p>Souji finds a solution, but he and the rest of the team are a little apprehensive about it, to say the least.</p><p>In the end, the Investigation Team decides their only option is to send their fearless leader back to the start of this mess to try again. He'll probably be fine.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>118</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Pacing At 2 In The Morning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji has insomnia. It's a good thing Yosuke also has insomnia.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A dim light illuminates a small kitchen.</p><p>Its been months since the fog settled over Inaba. Its been months since they confronted Namatame in a dark hospital, since an argument nearly shattered the Investigation Team apart completely. As it was, the team may as well have disbanded for all the investigating they did during Souji's last 3 months in Inaba.</p><p>Souji realizes he's still staring blankly at an open fridge.</p><p>He sighs and decides that a midnight snack isn't going to cure his insomnia, his thoughts are refusing to stop racing.</p><p>
  <em>"This won't change anything."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What the hell kind of half-assed answer is that?!"</em>
</p><p>Yosuke had been right about that at least. Looking back on it, Souji was honestly surprised no one had called him out on it before then. For a leader, Souji never made decisions if he could help it. He had become very good at reflecting and redirecting them onto the rest of the team without them noticing. In retrospect, it was probably a very bad habit.</p><p>Souji turns on the lights and flops onto a couch in his parent's apartment. He's tired of fidgeting and checking the clock, trying to force himself to sleep. He's used to the insomnia by now... Did he have insomnia before Inaba...?</p><p>There were probably other times when his indecision and hesitation hurt the team. He knew he tended to let the others carry on the conversations, only really giving input when asked. There were a few times the team had come to... questionable conclusions, and Souji had to fight back many a cringe. Although, again, in retrospect, that might've been a warning that he should have gotten more involved, not less.</p><p>After staring at the ceiling a bit, Souji pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through text conversations with Yosuke. It was something of a coping mechanism, really. Souji had never really had friends before Inaba, and always felt a bit insecure about it, not that he ever let it show. Re-reading text logs became a source of validation whenever his anxiety started to get the better of him. </p><p>Unfortunately, his recent conversations with his partner revolved around the search for Teddie, who was still missing, and Nanako, who was still hospitalized.</p><p>Souji closes his phone.</p><p>Things were never the same after that night in Namatame's room. The team, his friends, had argued over killing a person. Souji's "half-assed" answers may have diffused the situation, but it left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. The question was never really answered, just put on indefinite hold. They never really got closure. It left a lot of tension between the group in the following months. </p><p>They acted like nothing had changed, but Souji felt like he had lost the respect of the whole team that night. He had certainly lost respect for himself.</p><p>Souji notices he's pacing. He opens the fridge again.</p><p>Souji couldn't even bring himself to say anything to his friends when he got on the train to leave Inaba. What could he say? He had so many regrets, so many things he should have done, but didn't. Inaba is still covered in fog. There are still so many questions unanswered.</p><p>Souji is looking at his phone again.</p><p>He texts Yosuke.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Souji: sorry</p>
</blockquote><p>He hits the send button before he can think about it, closes the phone and sets it down a couple feet away from him. He sits on the counter and feels something in his chest tighten as he thinks about the past year.</p><p>The phone buzzes.</p><p>Souji stares at it.</p><p>Who else is up at this time of night?</p><p>...Apparently Yosuke is up at this time of night.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Yosuke: sorry for what exactly?<br/>
Yosuke: also why are you awake rn go to sleep</p>
  <p>Souji: i didn't wake you up did i?</p>
  <p>Yosuke: nah, i was already up<br/>
Yosuke: so why are u apologizing at 2 in the morning?</p>
  <p>Souji: for being a shitty leader</p>
  <p>Yosuke: ...<br/>
Yosuke: you weren't a shitty leader souji</p>
  <p>Souji: when did i ever actally lead anyone outside of combat?</p>
  <p>Yosuke: have you been awake all night thinking about this?</p>
</blockquote><p>Souji notices he's pacing again.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Yosuke: souji<br/>
Yosuke: youre not giving yourself enough credit</p>
  <p>Souji: all i ever did was deflect the decision making onto everyone else</p>
  <p>Yosuke: like hell you were<br/>
Yosuke: if you hadnt taken charge our rescue missions would have been a complete disaster<br/>
Yosuke: like the weapons in the food court incident<br/>
Yosuke: but with more dead children</p>
  <p>Souji: ...</p>
  <p>Yosuke: and you were also there for us when we needed someone to talk to<br/>
Yosuke: you have no idea how much it meant just to have someone who cared enough to pay attention<br/>
Yosuke: so why are you worrying about this now?</p>
</blockquote><p>Souji stops pacing for a moment. He's had over three months with nothing to do except stew over all his regrets and anxieties. Maybe he'd felt differently back in the thick of things, but now...</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Yosuke: partner?</p>
  <p>Souji: inaba is still covered in fog<br/>
Souji: nanakos still in the hospital<br/>
Souji: ted is still missing<br/>
Souji: namatame still says hes innocent</p>
  <p>Yosuke: ...</p>
  <p>Souji: i just feel like i screwed up somewhere<br/>
Souji: like i missed something<br/>
Souji: or lost track of what we were trying to do<br/>
Souji: or didnt step up when i needed to</p>
  <p>Yosuke: i guess things could have ended better<br/>
Yosuke: but youve gotta stop thinking up what ifs<br/>
Yosuke: youll drive yourself nuts<br/>
Yosuke: whats done is done we have to live with it</p>
</blockquote><p>What's done is done? Souji... isn't actually sure about that. He still remembers sirens wailing, a tragic death, one he was responsible for. It had never actually happened. But Souji remembers it.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Souji: ...partner?</p>
  <p>Yosuke: ...yeah?</p>
  <p>Souji: if we could do it all over again, would it be worth it?</p>
  <p>Yosuke: ...what do you mean exactly?</p>
  <p>Souji: if we could do last year over again, knowing what we do now</p>
  <p>Yosuke: i feel like it would short circuit a lot of stuff<br/>
Yosuke: most of last year was just us having no idea what was going on</p>
  <p>Souji: fair<br/>
Souji: but... if it was possible for one of us to go back and...<br/>
Souji: not be a complete idiot<br/>
Souji: and figure out where we went wrong<br/>
Souji: even if it means this never happened<br/>
Souji: if it rewrote last year<br/>
Souji: would it be worth it?</p>
  <p>Yosuke: youre starting to scare me a little here partner<br/>
Yosuke: this is still hypothetical right?<br/>
Yosuke: cause youre getting really specific</p>
</blockquote><p>Whoops. Souji started getting a little carried away. He isn't even sure this is possible in the first place. Maybe he should reassure his partner a bit.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Souji: sorry<br/>
Souji: i just<br/>
Souji: need someone else's input here</p>
  <p>Yosuke: not exactly the reassurance i wanted bro</p>
</blockquote><p>...Okay, so maybe Souji isn't in a great state of mind to be reassuring. But this isn't really something he can just let go of without an answer.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Yosuke: well<br/>
Yosuke: if its only one of us going back<br/>
Yosuke: theyd have to deal with all their friends being strangers</p>
</blockquote><p>Souji bites his lip. That's exactly his biggest worry.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Yosuke: they could either tell everyone theyre from the future<br/>
Yosuke: which would completely freak everyone out if they believed you<br/>
Yosuke: and probably create some trust issues?<br/>
Yosuke: or you could not tell everyone<br/>
Yosuke: which would mean putting up an act literally all the time<br/>
Yosuke: and not being able to talk to anyone about it<br/>
Yosuke: and also waiting for everyone to piece together the clues on their own</p>
  <p>Souji: thats about what i was thinking</p>
  <p>Yosuke: either way youd be kinda screwed</p>
  <p>Souji: what do you mean?</p>
  <p>Yosuke: either way youd be kind of isolated from the rest of the group, right?<br/>
Yosuke: we've been thru some shit, all of us are very different from one year ago<br/>
Yosuke: which reminds me, youd be dealing with a bunch of rookies in the tv world</p>
</blockquote><p>Souji pauses for a moment. He hadn't considered that.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Souji: yeah, thats why i wanted to ask your opinion<br/>
Souji: it seems like a pretty awful idea</p>
  <p>Yosuke: also pretty damn tempting</p>
  <p>Souji: ?</p>
  <p>Yosuke: last year was both the best and worst year of my life<br/>
Yosuke: i think a lot of the team would say the same</p>
  <p>Souji: you think so?</p>
  <p>Yosuke: yeah, reliving it wouldn't be so bad<br/>
Yosuke: except for certain parts<br/>
Yosuke: the ending was pretty bad<br/>
Yosuke: ...its been awhile since we had this kind of conversation<br/>
Yosuke: ive missed it</p>
  <p>Souji: this kind of conversation?</p>
  <p>Yosuke: a kind of serious tactical conversation?<br/>
Yosuke: where i actually have to think about my answers<br/>
Yosuke: instead of small talk about homework and gossip</p>
  <p>Souji: i... think i know what you mean</p>
  <p>Yosuke: i hate the idea that i might have peaked at 17<br/>
Yosuke: im scared of going back to being bored and angry<br/>
Yosuke: you know?</p>
  <p>Souji: yeah<br/>
Souji: its something thats crossed my mind more than once</p>
  <p>Yosuke: i miss teddie</p>
  <p>Souji: yeah<br/>
Souji: me too</p>
  <p>Yosuke: the fog is driving me crazy too<br/>
Yosuke: youd think i was used to it by now<br/>
Yosuke: its just so omnipresent</p>
  <p>Souji: thats one of the things we never figured out</p>
  <p>Yosuke: you know rise and naoto teamed up with that weather girl thats always on the roof<br/>
Yosuke: theyre trying to track how bad the fog is<br/>
Yosuke: see if it changes</p>
  <p>Souji: im glad theyre doing that<br/>
Souji: someone should keep an eye out</p>
  <p>Yosuke: yeah. i think it bothers rise a lot more than the rest of us<br/>
Yosuke: like himiko isnt leaving her alone</p>
  <p>Souji: thats really worrying</p>
  <p>Yosuke: tell me about it<br/>
Yosuke: no one is really happy about the situation here<br/>
Yosuke: but we ran out of leads a long time ago</p>
  <p>Souji: can you keep me updated if the situation changes?</p>
  <p>Yosuke: sure thing partner<br/>
Yosuke: this is why youre not a shitty leader btw</p>
</blockquote><p>Souji can't help but grin sheepishly. Leave it to his partner to cheer him up and distract him.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Souji: thanks partner</p>
  <p>Yosuke: no problem</p>
</blockquote>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is more or less me after getting one of the bad endings in Persona 4 for the PS2, then deciding to try again in Golden. This is my first time writing fanfiction, I'm kinda making it up as I go. I'm having fun so far though.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Can I have a do over?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji checks to see if his idea is actually feasible.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Spring break is almost over, so Souji goes out to buy school supplies.<br/>Its a little concerning, he reflects, that this is the first time he's left his parent's place in almost a week. The last time he went out was for groceries. Its hard to find a reason to do anything these days. That doesn't stop Souji from berating himself for stagnating.</p><p>In fact he's so distracted by his berating that he almost walks past the glowing blue door.</p><p>Souji pauses, then backpedals a couple steps. Yep, that's the Velvet Room. But... why? Its been weeks since he saw last saw it. Why now...?</p><p>He can feel it beckoning him. He glances down at his shopping bags then walks cautiously towards the door.</p><hr/><p>"Welcome back, dear guest, to the Velvet Room."</p><p>Sure enough, Souji is sitting on a familiar seat in a familiar limousine, being greeted by a familiar nose.</p><p>"Hey Igor. Hello Margaret." Souji can't help but feel a little nervous. After all, he has a suspicion that he may have failed at his job. The serious expressions on Igor and Margaret's faces seem to confirm it. "So, uh..."</p><p>"It would appear that your way has been clouded by fog," Igor peers at Souji. "And where there was once a path forward, it is no longer accessible to you."</p><p>Souji's heart sinks. So he had failed. It doesn't surprise him at this point, but hurts all the same. "I... thought that might be the case," he admits.</p><p>Margaret looks at Souji sternly. Souji feels his heart get crushed a little more under her disappointment. "You failed to sufficiently devote yourself to finding the truth," she states. "In your hesitation, you were unable to persuade your companions."</p><p>"That sounds about right." Souji pauses to gather his thoughts "I did fail. I still remember our contract, and I will take responsibility. That's why..." He takes a deep breath and looks at Igor. "I wanted to ask a question."</p><p>"Yes?" Igor raises an eyebrow.</p><p>"I wanted to know... you said that the path forward is no longer accessible. Are you sure there are no other options? I still want to fix my mistakes and complete my task. If there's any way for me to do that..." Souji trails off, glancing between Igor and Margret.</p><p>Igor smiles at Souji. "I believe you may already have an idea, perhaps?"</p><p>Souji takes another breath and replies. "Yes actually... Many months ago, when I was still new to Inaba, Yukiko Amagi was kidnapped and thrown into the TV World. We went in to save her, but... we were too slow, too inexperienced, and uncoordinated." Souji grimaces at the memory. "...Yukiko Amagi was found dead on an antenna." Igor nods in encouragement, and Souji continues onwards despite his nerves. "But that didn't happen. Somehow I lived that week for a second time. I took charge and organized our efforts, made sure we were well supplied and ready. We managed to rescue Yukiko the evening before the fog set in. A similar thing has happened sometimes when we go to fight a powerful shadow. Its as if we fight it more than once."</p><p>"So what I'm wondering is... can I do that again?"</p><p>Souji's memories of Yukiko's rescue are fuzzy. He had more or less convinced himself it had all been a nightmare, then tried to forget about it. The repeated boss fights would drag it back up, but Souji has always been wary of time travel, probably due to some of the books he read when he was younger. It was easier to just appreciate it for bailing him out then try not to think about it too much. Maybe it had been a mistake not to look into it more, but that's why he's here now.</p><p>"I see..." Igor muses to himself. "One could argue that asking for a do-over is attempting to avoid responsibility for mistakes..."</p><p>"No, that's not it." Souji protests. "If its the only way to fix those mistakes, then going back to fix them is taking responsibility. I never made any of my choices with the intent to erase them if they went wrong. If there is still a way to fix this without such drastic measures, I would rather try that first. As it is, I don't really want to do it all over again, but... I'll do it if it will help."</p><p>"These are, as you say, drastic measures. Are you certain you are willing and able to go through with it?"</p><p>"You mean... its actually possible?"</p><p>"Quite possible. You would be sent back to the start of your journey, when you first arrived. However, you would lose access to your personas, your social links will revert, you will lose access to most of your resources."</p><p>Margaret speaks up. "The compendium would empty itself. You will have to start back at the very beginning."</p><p>"In addition, you would forfeit all future resets. In other words, this really will be your last chance. Do you have the commitment to see this through?"</p><p>Souji hesitates. Does he have the resolve to do it all over again? Not only that, but without any more screw ups? This isn't something he can afford to be half-assed about. "I'm... not sure. I might need more time to consider it."</p><p>Igor nods. "I see. Do not dally too much longer, but take some time to steel your resolve. May I recommend discussing it with your ally of the Magician arcana, perhaps...?"</p><p>"That was my intention actually." Talking to Yosuke about this was the first thing that popped into Souji's head.</p><p>"Good." Igor smiles in approval. "I believe you have preparations to make then...?"</p><p>"Yes." Souji nods firmly. "Thank you Igor. I'll be back soon with my decision."</p><p>"Farewell, then."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Important Conversations in the Dead of Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A purely hypothetical conversation between insomniac friends at 2 am.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yosuke is starting to worry about his best friend.</p><p>"You seem a little obsessed with this hypothetical time travel scheme, partner."</p><p>Souji stays silent.</p><p>Yosuke is sitting on the chair in his room, feet up against his desk, phone to his ear. He had been trying to drown out his insomnia with music, but it hadn't worked. Then Souji had texted to ask if he was awake. This is the third conversation about the aforementioned "time travel scheme". Souji is still insisting its purely hypothetical. Yosuke isn't sure he buys it though. Also it is 1:42 am.</p><p>Yosuke decides to let it go and gathers his thoughts. "Okay, look. Its a tough decision, I'll grant you that. But I think you're overthinking this."</p><p>"You think so?"</p><p>"Yeah. There's all sorts of potential sticky ethical dilemmas you're going to have to deal with, no question about that. We've already talked about a few of them." Yosuke begins to tap the hilt of one of his daggers and tries to ignore the fog just outside his window.</p><p>"Right." </p><p>"But I don't think they'll be as bad as you're thinking. You've made tough calls before."</p><p>"I... guess that's true."</p><p>Yosuke isn't happy with how unsure Souji is of himself these days. "It <em>is</em> true, partner. I know you think you didn't do a good job leading the investigation, but you did an incredible job leading the rescue missions. All of us made it out alive, that's nothing to brush off."</p><p>"Right. Alive." Yosuke can hear Souji muttering on the other end of the line.</p><p>"Yeah, I mean... we're all still here, right?" Yosuke trails off uncertainly. Half forgotten fragments of nightmares pop up in his mind. The sickening sense of deja vu he sometimes got during boss fights. Souji screaming "Not again!" at Kanji's shadow right after Yosuke took a critical hit. </p><p>Why is Souji being so insistent about this time travel idea? It's impossible, right?</p><p>"Uh... hey partner?" Yosuke hesitates. He's not sure if he actually wants to know.</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"Hypothetically, has time travel happened before...?" He trails off.</p><p>There's an uneasy pause. Yosuke realizes he's holding his breath.</p><p>"...Hypothetically, yes. Time travel has happened before." Yosuke stays silent. Souji starts to sound a little panicked. "Uh, hypothetically, it was never on purpose. Sometimes, hypothetically, something would go very badly wrong and it would just happen."</p><p>"Okay." Yosuke takes a breath. "So..."</p><p>"I've never tried to do it on purpose. Hypothetically."</p><p>"Right."</p><p>"I always just kind of tried to convince myself I was imagining things, or something. I may have read a few too many cautionary tales about time travel so I was a bit worried."</p><p>"Partner."</p><p>"And the idea of having access to a redo button kind of freaked me out? Like if my choices can just be rewritten if I decide I didn't like the consequences, then would I even try anymore? Or would I be second guessing myself even more-?"</p><p>"Souji. Calm down." This feels backwards. Normally Souji is the calm one.</p><p>Souji cuts off his next sentence. "Sorry partner."</p><p>Yosuke rubs his hand over his face and sighs. "Sheesh, man. You really are completely stressed out about this, huh?"</p><p>Souji doesn't say anything.</p><p>"Look, you're overthinking this again. Judging by what you just told me, you're not the type to abuse this sort of thing, and I'm not going to give you crap about something that probably saved our asses, so stop worrying about it. Okay?"</p><p>"...Okay."</p><p>Yosuke decides to drag the conversation back on track. He'll deal with the existential implications of confirmed time travel later. "So back to my original point. You're going to run into ethical dilemmas. I think you'll be able to deal with them. Which leaves the other main issue."</p><p>"Which is?"</p><p>"Whether going back will make things better or worse. Objectively, things didn't go <em>too</em> horribly this time. We're still missing a lot of answers, and the fog is far from ideal, but nobody died after we got involved. Except for Morooka."</p><p>"You have a point."</p><p>"But Teddie is still missing." Yosuke feels his voice catch slightly on Teddie's name. He tries not to look at what used to be Ted's corner of the room. "And we still don't know when- or even if- Nanako-chan will get better. The fog has just been sitting here for months, and I don't think its good for the town. But unless the situation starts to get better or worse, its hard to make a decision."</p><p>Souji sighs. "Yeah."</p><p>"I can't make this decision for you partner. But if you go through with it, you have my support." Yosuke wants to make sure Souji knows he has Yosuke's support after his panicked confession earlier.</p><p>"Your hypothetical support?"</p><p>Yosuke feels himself smile slightly as he rolls his eyes. Its reassuring to hear the slight sense of mischief in Souji's voice. "Sure. You have my hypothetical support for your totally hypothetical time travel scheme."</p><p>Souji laughs a bit. "Thanks partner."</p><p>"No problem." Something occurs to Yosuke. "You know its almost 2 am right?"</p><p>"Yeah? What about it?"</p><p>Yosuke frowns. "Aren't you back at your parent's place? How have you not woken them up yet? I can hear you pacing."</p><p>There's a pause before Souji replies. "I think they might have mentioned a business trip or something."</p><p>"Might?"</p><p>"I wasn't really paying attention."</p><p>Suddenly Yosuke is very aware of how little Souji has told him about his parents, or his life before Inaba. "Is that... normal for you?"</p><p>"I'm used to it." This does not reassure Yosuke.</p><p>"I don't even notice they're gone until they get back sometimes." Yeah. This does not reassure Yosuke in the slightest.</p><p>"Partner..." Yosuke isn't sure how to respond to this.</p><p>"Look, it's not a big deal. Speaking of parents, haven't you woken yours up?" Souji deflects the conversation. Its definitely not his smoothest topic change, but Yosuke decides to let him get away with it, because he still doesn't know how to respond about Souji's absent parents.</p><p>"Well, mom's working the night shift right now and dad could sleep through the apocalypse." Yosuke winces on the last word. Maybe not the best comparison given the circumstances.</p><p>Souji seems to agree. "Uh, lets try not to test that last bit."</p><p>There's a short awkward silence. Yosuke flounders for a topic and remembers something. "Oh! I should mention, the team is getting together tomorrow to talk about stuff."</p><p>"Really?" Souji sounds surprised, and Yosuke can't blame him. The Investigation Team hasn't had an official meeting in months.</p><p>"Yeah, Naoto insisted on it. I'm not sure if something's come up, but maybe we can start trying to figure out how to get rid of the fog. Waiting for it to disappear obviously hasn't worked." Yosuke can't help but glance out the window again. He shivers and fidgets with his dagger.</p><p>"No kidding." Souji sighs over the phone.</p><p>"I could have you over speaker phone during the meeting if you want." Yosuke makes the offer on a whim. Things had been tense and awkward between members of the team for some time now, maybe it was time someone tried to bridge the gap.</p><p>"Huh? Uh, are you sure?" Souji sounds surprised and uncertain. Not a great sign. "Naoto is calling the meeting, right? I'm not sure she'd want my input after..." </p><p>Right. Souji is still worried about being a terrible leader. How should he handle this? "You don't have to be the acting leader at the meeting." Hopefully that will take some of the pressure off. "You'll only be there over phone, so I don't think anyone would mind." Or maybe Yosuke guessed the problem wrong. That was also possible.</p><p>"...Yeah. That sounds good. Also I want to hear from everyone again, just in case..." Souji trails off again.</p><p>"In case..." Yosuke makes a shot in the dark. "...time travel?"</p><p>The silence answers his question before Souji does.</p><p>"...Yeah. More or less."</p><p>"Are you going to tell them about it?" That will probably be a stressful conversation. If it happens.</p><p>"I... don't want to." Souji admits. And that's totally fair. The reason Yosuke isn't having an existential freak out is because his partner needs him right now.</p><p>"Thats fair. I think it might be a good idea to hold off on it actually. They have enough to worry about right now, and telling them as a group feels like asking for trouble. Its up to you though."</p><p>"Maybe I'll ask them a few hypothetical questions about their opinions on time travel." There's deadpan humor in Souji's voice.</p><p>Yosuke snorts. "I'm sure they'll totally buy it."</p><p>"Yep." Souji sighs after a moment. "I should probably let you get to bed if there's a meeting tomorrow."</p><p>"Only if you try to get some sleep too, partner."</p><p>"If I must. Talk to you tomorrow partner."</p><p>They end the call. Yosuke is suddenly aware of how dry and scratchy his eyes are. His stomach growls. Ah, the downsides of staying awake all night.</p><p>Yosuke shuffles towards the kitchen to grab a snack before heading back to bed. Whenever he looks at the windows, he can't help but imagine shapeless monsters prowling in the fog, like they do in the fog of the TV world. He looks away from the windows and tries to shake away the dread. He's still clutching one of his daggers.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I already have a lot of this written, so I'm just uploading a lot of it at once.</p><p>Souji and Yosuke's insomnia is mostly due to me having bad insomnia lately. I no longer take sleep for granted.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. End of the Timeline Party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Investigation Team gathers together to hear some bad news, and get asked a hypothetical question about time travel.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hey guys." Yosuke tries to stifle a yawn. It doesn't work.</p>
<p>"Geez, senpai. You look like you haven't slept in a week!" Rise is trying to be cheerful, but she looks worse for wear as well.</p>
<p>As the others slowly arrive at the Junes food court, Yosuke can't help but notice they all look the same. Over three months of fog was taking its toll on them. The food court itself appears abandoned.</p>
<p>Its just Rise and Kanji at the moment. Kanji is slumped over on the table, while Rise looks like she wants to be doing the same. They probably walked over from the shopping district together. The team has taken to traveling in pairs when they can.</p>
<p>"You guys don't look too hot yourselves. Are the others heading over?"</p>
<p>"Oh, Chie-senpai is walking with Yukiko-san, and Naoto-kun said she's almost here." Rise informs him.</p>
<p>Kanji raises his head a little at the mention of Naoto. "She's the one who called the meeting, yeah?"</p>
<p>"Yeah." Yosuke spots Naoto walking out of the fog towards them. "Speak of the devil. Hey Naoto."</p>
<p>"Hello, senpai. Rise-chan, Kanji-kun. Thank you for coming." Naoto slides into her seat with a little less grace than she was probably hoping for.</p>
<p>"The girls are on their way." Yosuke decides to answer the question before it gets asked. "So is this just a general meeting or is there news?"</p>
<p>"I'm afraid there is some news." Naoto grips the brim of her hat and avoids eye contact. Rise's expression falls a little. "I would prefer to wait until the others arrive before discussing it though."</p>
<p>"Fine by me." Yosuke puts on his trademark smile to lighten the mood. He thinks it helps a little. "Oh, by the way, I told Souji about the meeting, is it okay if I put him on speaker phone so he can participate?"</p>
<p>"I... don't see why not." Naoto is avoiding eye contact again. She looks exhausted.</p>
<p>"Oh! Have you talked to him recently Yosuke-senpai?" Rise perks up again. "How's he doing?"</p>
<p>Yosuke pauses a moment. Where does he even begin? "Ah... well, a few nights ago he texted me to apologize for being a, quote, 'shitty leader' at 2 in the morning, so... yeah."</p>
<p>"You told him he was wrong, didn't you senpai?" Kanji frowns at Yosuke.</p>
<p>"Of course I did."</p>
<p>"The events of these past few months must weigh on him as heavily as they do on us." Naoto sighs.</p>
<p>"Hey!" Chie and Yukiko walk up and sit in their usual seats. "Are we the last ones here?" Chie asks.</p>
<p>"Almost. I'm about to call Souji, he's gonna be on speaker phone." Yosuke gestures to his phone.</p>
<p>"Oh good! It doesn't feel right to have a meeting without him." Chie grins and leans forward onto the table.</p>
<p>Yosuke remembers his conversation from yesterday. "I should mention he doesn't want to be filling the active leader role, since he's not actually here." Please don't make a fuss about this guys.</p>
<p>The team exchanges glances.</p>
<p>"...I see. Perhaps we should proceed without an official leader for this meeting?" Naoto suggests.</p>
<p>"I think that works for now. That sound okay?" Yosuke looks around the table. Everyone is nodding with varying degrees of reluctance. "Cool. Hang on a second." He dials Souji.</p>
<p>"Hey, is the meeting starting?" Souji's voice crackles over the speaker.</p>
<p>"Yep, everyone's here now." Except Teddie, but Yosuke doesn't say that out loud. He places the phone near the center of the table.</p>
<p>"Are you able to hear us adequately senpai?" Naoto speaks up.</p>
<p>"Yeah, more or less. I heard you called the meeting, Naoto?"</p>
<p>"Yes. You may have heard that Rise and I started monitoring the fog levels with the help of one of our classmates." Right down to business. "I'm afraid we've noticed an... alarming trend."</p>
<p>The team shuffles nervously, all eyes on Naoto. "While it appeared to us that the level of fog has been relatively stable, its been increasing in density. It was hard to notice at first because the increments have been so small, but the rate at which the fog thickens has been increasing exponentially."</p>
<p>Naoto takes a slightly shaky breath. "The increase in fog has picked up greatly over the last couple of days. I fear we may be about to reach a critical mass."</p>
<p>The team exchanges glances as they process this. Yosuke grimaces. "...Do we know what happens then?"</p>
<p>"The fact stands that we know very little about the fog and its purpose, aside from some of its surface level effects. It was theorized many months ago when it first covered the town that the TV World may be merging with the real world."</p>
<p>Souji speaks up. "Speaking of the TV World, is it still inaccessible?" They had been unable to enter TVs since Teddie disappeared.</p>
<p>"Yes, unfortunately. It would have been my first choice for investigating the cause of all this, but as things currently stand..." Naoto sighs. "We are completely powerless."</p>
<p>The mood is heavy and anxious. Yosuke fidgets with his headphone cable. Everyone on the team understands the implications. Something bad is going to happen soon. And there's nothing we can do about it.</p>
<p>"Isn't there anything we can do?" Its Yukiko that breaks the silence first. "Surely there must be something..."</p>
<p>"Only thing I can think of is gettin' out of town, but I ain't doin' that." Kanji folds his arms, brow furrowed.</p>
<p>"Come to think of it, is the fog affecting anything outside Inaba? It isn't going to spread, is it?" Chie shifts in her seat uncomfortably.</p>
<p>"Its a very real possibility." Naoto states grimly. "As I said, we don't know nearly enough about the fog. If we're lucky, it won't spread beyond Inaba, but I wouldn't count on it."</p>
<p>"...What are we going to do?" Rise asks in a small voice.</p>
<p>Nobody answers. The food court falls silent again.</p>
<p>"...I ...might have something." Souji's voice is soft over the phone speaker, but its quiet enough to hear a pin drop right now. Everyone is pulled out of their own thoughts, but they stay silent.</p>
<p>"How do you guys feel about time travel?"</p>
<p>Silence.</p>
<p>"...Hypothetically speaking."</p>
<p>Yosuke slams his forehead into the table. The group looks on in surprise.</p>
<p>"What was that?" Everyone except Souji, who can't look because he isn't here.</p>
<p>"Yosuke just hit his head on the table." Chie supplies. "Also, what? Time travel?"</p>
<p>"Uh... right." Souji's voice is uncertain. "Hypothetically, do you think it would help if one of us could go back to the beginning- like, memory-wise, not physically- and do everything over again. Would that help?"</p>
<p>"...Prob'ly." Kanji responds first.</p>
<p>"I'm inclined to agree with Kanji, we couldn't do much worse than our current situation, but this hypothetical solution raises... many questions, to say the least." Naoto looks bewildered.</p>
<p>"Wait wait wait, I'm confused. Why the heck are we talking about time travel?!" Chie looks around the table for answers.</p>
<p>Yosuke raises his head and decides to stop this circus before it gets worse. "From what I understand, our fearless leader can and has gone back in time. Hypothetically." Yosuke rolls his eyes.</p>
<p>"What do you mean he's gone back in time before?!" Chie demands.</p>
<p>They hear a long sigh from Yosuke's phone. "Only ever a week at most, and always unintentionally."</p>
<p>"A week?" Naoto narrows her eyes. "What would require a full week of... do-overs?"</p>
<p>"...A failed rescue." Souji's voice is quiet.</p>
<p>"...Okay." Yosuke wants to end this train of thought. "So, hypothetically, Souji can go back to... when exactly?"</p>
<p>"The day I arrived in Inaba."</p>
<p>"Okay. The day he arrived in Inaba. That means he can... fix things I guess?" Yosuke trails off. They never actually talked about what he would do.</p>
<p>"I was thinking of going along with the original events for the most part. I'm worried about what would happen if I change too much. Meeting Naoto for example, might not happen if she doesn't see a reason to take the case."</p>
<p>The entire team looks upset at this idea.</p>
<p>"We've talked about it a bit over the past few days." Yosuke informs the group. "The big thing I'm worried about is its going to be hard as hell on the person who goes back."</p>
<p>"What do you mean?" Rise asks nervously.</p>
<p>Yosuke sighs. "The entire team won't remember them. Their best friends will treat them as a stranger. And if they want to avoid looking like a crazy person, they're gonna have to put up an act constantly. Not to mention having to sit back and watch the train wreck that is... us, generally."</p>
<p>"That does sound like a lot to ask of someone." Yukiko says quietly.</p>
<p>"Uh..." Kanji interjects. "Sorry, but just to clarify, we're talkin' about Souji-senpai goin' back, right?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, why are we being all confusing about it?" Chie looks impatient. "Just say what you mean already!"</p>
<p>"Uh, sorry." Souji sounds sheepish. "I'm still kind of nervous about this and it was easier to talk about it hypothetically."</p>
<p>"There's a lot to be nervous about." Naoto looks tense as she stares at the table in front of her. "You'll be more or less on your own."</p>
<p>"I won't be for long though." Souji sounds almost happy through the static of the phone call.</p>
<p>"Thats true." Yosuke smiles a bit at the memories. "Honestly, Souji's probably the best choice to go back in the first place. No one in Inaba knew him beforehand, so he doesn't have to worry about keeping up appearances."</p>
<p>"If I may bring us back a bit," Naoto interrupts, "Souji-senpai, have you been able to confirm this is possible? You said its only happened unintentionally in the past."</p>
<p>"Yes. Its possible." Souji confirms.</p>
<p>"Then the next order of business is whether or not to go through with it." Naoto looks at each member present at the table. "I'd like everyone to share their opinions."</p>
<p>Everyone shares glances around the table before Yosuke speaks up. "It doesn't look to me like we have any other options, and I don't think things are going to get better on their own. I think we should go through with it." He looks to Chie.</p>
<p>"I... still don't quite understand everything that's going on here, but if the fog keeps getting worse, I don't think Inaba is going to last much longer. If this could be solved by kicking butt, I'd be all for that, but since that isn't an option..." Chie trails off, looking uncertain. She glances at Yukiko.</p>
<p>"I think Chie's right about Inaba not lasting much longer. The staff around the inn... aren't doing well, to say the least, and I doubt the rest of the town is any better. Everyone is scared, and sick, and I'm afraid that the fog will spread outside of Inaba. I think you should do it." Yukiko nods firmly. Kanji's up next.</p>
<p>"The whole idea is freakin' me out honestly." Kanji shifts in his chair. "Knowing I... or some other me, is gonna have to go through all that again? I can't say I'm happy about it, but... you guys were there for me and I know you will be again, even if we forget everything. If its the best chance we have at fixing this, I say go for it, senpai." He nudges Rise.</p>
<p>"I worry about what's going to happen to us when he goes back, but I don't think staying in the fog will end any better for us. If anyone can do it, it's Souji-senpai." Rise sits up straight, determination written across her face. Everyone looks back to Naoto.</p>
<p>"Should things go badly as I predict, I am in favor of Souji going forward with this plan. As we are currently, we have no options to investigate further. So logically it makes sense to go back to a period where our options were still open." Naoto finishes.</p>
<p>"...That's pretty much unanimous." Yosuke takes a breath and looks at his phone, still sitting on the table. "It looks like you have everyone's go ahead partner."</p>
<p>The phone remains quiet for a moment. "...You know, I almost convinced myself not to ask you guys about this. I was scared you might... I don't even know. I'm glad I brought it up though. I feel much better about this knowing you're all okay with it. Thanks guys."</p>
<p>Rise pipes up. "Of course! We're no strangers to difficult decisions at this point. I'm glad you still trusted us enough to tell us, senpai."</p>
<p>"So... when are you planning to do it, partner?" Yosuke asks. Despite their determination, the entire Investigation Team feels some apprehension.</p>
<p>"I was thinking... tomorrow morning. I'd like to tidy up a bit, look through my stuff... get my affairs in order I guess."</p>
<p>"In that case, may I suggest the rest of us meet here early tomorrow morning? I... would appreciate the company." Naoto's voice is quiet and she diverts her eyes near the end of the sentence.</p>
<p>"I was going to suggest that if no one else did." Rise smiles, but her eyes are nervous. There's a quiet chorus of agreement from the rest of the team.</p>
<p>"Actually... would it be too much to have a sleep over?" Chie has a smile similar to Rise's. "Hey, Yukiko, would it be hard to get a room or two at the inn?"</p>
<p>Yukiko's smile is more genuine. "I think that can be arranged."</p>
<p>"I'll bring snacks." Kanji offers.</p>
<p>"I've got some board games. We'll make a whole night out of it." Yosuke's chest still feels tight, but he's starting to get excited anyway.</p>
<p>"Kanji-kun, do you need any help with the food?" Naoto doesn't want to be left out. Or left alone.</p>
<p>"S-sure thing!" Kanji's words are an octave or two higher than they were a moment ago.</p>
<p>"I really couldn't have asked for better friends than you guys. Have fun tonight! Try not to get into too much mischief this time." Souji chuckles to himself.</p>
<p>"Sure thing partner! Okay guys, we've got a few hours to prepare. Everyone meet at the Amagi Inn around 5 pm?" There's a chorus of agreement from the rest of the team. Yosuke stands up, and the rest of the team starts to disperse. Their smiles feel far less brittle now as they chatter on their way out of Junes.</p>
<p>Yosuke picks up his phone and turns off speaker phone. "Hey partner."</p>
<p>"I take it the meeting is over?"</p>
<p>"Yep. Everyone looks the happiest they've looked in months." Yosuke leans on the now empty table and smiles in the direction the team left in. "Thanks for speaking up when you did. They really needed to know there's still a chance, scary as it is."</p>
<p>"Yeah. That was my intention, but I'm feeling way better with everyone's blessing. I'm not on my own."</p>
<p>"Like Kanji said, even if we don't remember the same things you do, we've got your back, just like you've always had ours."</p>
<p>"Thank you, partner. That means a lot to me."</p>
<p>"Talk to you a year ago?"</p>
<p>"Talk to you a year ago."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>End of the timeline party! Similar to an end of the world party, but a little more fun.</p>
<p>I imagine the fog still takes over Inaba in the ending where they don't find the true culprit, just not as quickly since the culprit isn't actively fecking around in the TV World.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Resolve and Reflection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji reflects on the past year as he prepares to go back and do it all over again.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Souji lets out a breath as he looks around his room. It... doesn't quite feel like his room, not the way his room in Inaba had become. Then again, he's only been here a couple weeks. He glances at the calendar on his wall. Its far emptier than it was a few months ago, when it was bursting with TV World scheduling and meet ups with his friends. Now the only thing of import is school starting in a couple days. Souji flips back to October. Immediately, his eye is caught by a date near the beginning of the month. Thursday Oct. 6: <span class="u"><strong>FOG!!!</strong></span> Its circled and underlined multiple times in red. That was probably Naoto's rescue deadline. They'd managed it with multiple days to spare, but even with the TV World empty, foggy days were still nerve wracking.</p>
<p>He glances at his clock. 6:15 pm. His friends were probably having fun at their impromptu end-of-the-timeline party. At least, he hopes they are. Given their track record, they may have already set something on fire. He smiles wistfully. His heart still feels heavy, but after talking with them, the pain in his chest isn't nearly as bad.</p>
<p>For the next few hours, Souji spends his time tidying up his room. His bed is made perfectly, his laundry he's been neglecting is folded and put away, he even vacuums the floor. When that's done, he pulls out a box of stuff from Inaba and opens it. It's full of slightly rumpled origami cranes. Of course it is. But underneath them are some odds and ends, some photos, and some TV related supplies. </p>
<p>He looks at the photos first. There are far too few of them. One of them is him and Nanako asleep on the couch that his uncle took. Another was a picture of the culture festival, someone had grabbed a stealth photo of the group date cafe, and Souji ended up hunting them down for a copy. Everyone looks like they'd rather be anywhere else, especially Yosuke who had to sit on the girl's side of the table. Maybe if it happens again he'll sit on the girls side just for fun. Underneath that is a signed picture of Rise, because of course she made sure he had one, as well as a signed poster. He flips it over to read the message. "For our fearless leader! Remember to stay in touch, senpai! ;P" The last photo is Yosuke and Teddie at Junes in their work uniforms. Yosuke looks aggrieved, and Teddie is sparkling up a storm, hanging off of Yosuke's arm. Souji realizes with a sinking feeling that he's missing pictures of half his friends. That's something he needs to fix next time. He sets the small pile of photos aside.</p>
<p>Next he pulls out his TV glasses, and memories of when he got them come rushing back. Teddie made these for him. Teddie, the cheerful multicolored bear they met in the TV World, whose feet made squeaky noises when he walked. The bear who showed him and Yosuke the ropes, who dubbed him "sensei". The boy who got into mischief and gave Yosuke grief, who became the life of the team, who disappeared after that night in the hospital. Souji had made a promise to Teddie that he would catch the murderer. </p>
<p>And they did. It was Namatame, who used his job as a delivery man to kidnap and throw people into the TV World, supposedly to "save" them. But... was that really the case? They never actually heard Namatame's side of the story, did they? He had been far too terrified of them to say anything coherent. They'd seen his shadow on the midnight channel, but again, something didn't sit right. The fog never left Inaba either, even after they caught him.</p>
<p>There were too many unanswered questions. That night in the hospital, they were all too overwhelmed by grief to realize it. And in the months that followed, they were too shaken to look, and even if they had, all their leads had dried up. In the end, he had failed Teddie, hadn't he? The promise may have just been "catch the murderer", but left unsaid was the promise to learn the truth behind everything, and fix what was wrong with Teddie's world.</p>
<p>Souji sets the glasses on his desk, and walks resolutely to his closet. He pulls out his Yasogami High uniform, and puts it on, adjusting it over his shoulders. Then he walks back to his glasses, picks them up, and puts them on for the first time in months. Whatever it takes, he won't lose sight of his goal this time. He will find the truth. For Teddie, Nanako, his friends, and Inaba, his home. He has a promise to keep.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Souji didn't really sleep at all. At about 3 am he decided, screw it, he's leaving now. He treats it almost like a normal morning, which is surreal. He takes a quick shower and even makes himself breakfast before heading out in his Yasogami uniform and glasses.</p>
<p>Knowing what he's about to do makes him look at everything with a new perspective. The streets are practically deserted at 3 am, but the city lights are enough to illuminate everything. Souji is used to dealing with far worse visibility conditions, to say the least. Its quiet enough to hear the hum of the florescent street lights, and the quiet rumble of cars in the distance. Normally Souji finds walking the city streets overwhelming, between the constant rush of cars going past, pedestrians, and so many little signs and details that he can't keep up with. It can be fun, but it takes all of his mental energy to cope with it. Its similar to fighting shadows in the TV World in a way.</p>
<p>He wonders briefly if any of his friends are still awake, and pulls out his phone. No new messages. He looks at it for a moment then decides that's fine by him. They'd ended things on a positive note, the most positive they'd been in months. If he contacts them now it will just be a reminder of what's about to happen. He slips the phone back into his pocket.</p>
<p>Souji shakes his head and refocuses. He's almost to the alley where he last visited the Velvet Room. He adjusts his glasses and straightens his shoulders. He has a mission and the unanimous support of his friends behind him. He grins to himself. Its good to have a clear path forward again.</p>
<p>He's in front of the entrance now. The Velvet Key glows in his hand. He takes a breath and opens the door.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor smiles knowingly at Souji. "Have you come to a conclusion?"</p>
<p>"Yes." Souji nods firmly. "I'm ready to go back to the start."</p>
<p>"Very good. Before we proceed, I would like to take a moment to go over the conditions again. Is that agreeable?" Souji nods. Igor continues. "Firstly, you will lose the power you have accumulated, as well as all of your current personas, and the compendium will be wiped clean."</p>
<p>Souji frowns for a moment. "Does that include Izanagi?"</p>
<p>"Izanagi will disappear as well. However, he is you and you are him in a way the others are not. I am certain you will see him again."</p>
<p>Souji nods in relief. He doesn't want to do everything without Izanagi by his side.</p>
<p>"Secondly, your social links will revert and go dormant. It will be up to you to reestablish them."</p>
<p>Souji expected this to be the case, and nods again.</p>
<p>"Thirdly, by going back an entire year and starting your journey over again, you forfeit any more second chances. You will no longer be able to go back and change past events."</p>
<p>Souji swallows and nods once again. This is the condition he's the most nervous about. He tried not to rely on time travel during his year in Inaba, but there were times he screwed up badly enough that he had no other choice. "I understand."</p>
<p>Igor smiles. "Very good. I should also mention that you may notice a few... differences... from last time. Do not concern yourself too much over them, and take advantage of the new opportunities they present."</p>
<p>Another frown crosses Souji's face as he considers this warning. Differences? It worries him that apparently he won't know everything beforehand, but maybe its a blessing in disguise. He's less likely to go nuts if there's a few new things to look forward to. He decides to take Igor's advice. "Okay. Thank you for the reminders. Is that everything?" Souji glances between Igor and Margaret, who still hasn't spoken up yet.</p>
<p>"I believe so. Are you prepared?" Igor raises an eyebrow inquiringly.</p>
<p>"Yes. Thank you for everything, Igor, Margaret." Souji nods to both of them.</p>
<p>Margaret gives him a small nod. "Good luck Souji."</p>
<p>Before Souji can express his surprise at the well wishes, Igor raises a hand, and Souji is gone.</p>
<p>Igor turns to Margret. "That was unexpected of you, Margaret. Have you come to care about the fate of our guest?"</p>
<p>"...His chances of success are greater with his spirits un-crushed." Margaret replies dryly.</p>
<p>Igor just chuckles.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Time Travel Causes Literal Headaches</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji stumbles his way through his first day back. It turns out time traveling a year and losing your personas screws up your head a little.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Monday, April 11</strong>
  </span>
  <span class="u"></span>
</p><hr/><p>Souji doesn't know what he was expecting a year's worth of time travel to feel like. It was probably not much different from what happened though.</p><p>In the past, during the few short jumps back he had done, it felt similar to the transition from the real world to the TV world and back. Everything fades to white and he feels like he's falling. Only this time, it lasts longer, and its accompanied by a sense of vertigo. He doesn't know how long it lasts, but when its over he feels dazed and light headed, like he sometimes does after a lot of fusing personas in the Velvet Room, but worse. Speaking of personas...</p><p>Souji wobbles a bit and sits up in his seat. He starts racking his mind for any trace of his personas. Nothing. His mind is silent except for his own thoughts. He feels lighter, but in an uneasy way, like someone took away his security blanket.</p><p>He starts processing his surroundings with a start. He's sitting down in a booth. Its a train. He's on a train. Okay. He doesn't know where he's going. Crap. What is he doing here? He feels like he should know, but he feels dazed and dizzy and his head is starting to pound with a headache.</p><p>"We will arrive at the Yasogami Terminal in a few minutes. Passengers headed for Inaba City, and Yasoinaba Station, please go to the other side of the station."</p><p>Inaba! That's where he's going. Good. Souji likes Inaba. Wait, that means he needs to get up and transfer trains. Souji staggers to his feet and focuses on getting to the next train. He can think more when he's sitting down again.</p><p>A while later, he's sitting down again. His head is still pounding, but he thinks he's got a better grasp on things. He's done this before, he's heading to Inaba for the first time again. Right, he's already spent a year there, but he had to come back because of the fog or something... Murders! That's right! And the TV World, and Nanako and Teddie and-"</p><p>Souji closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, because shaking his head feels like a bad idea right now. Okay, so he has successfully time traveled. He knows he had an important reason, and he knows the memories are still there, his head is just too jumbled right now to process anything. He should just focus on getting home safely for now.</p><p>Speaking of getting home, Souji manages to get his phone out of his pocket and finds the text from Dojima letting him know when and where to meet him. That's good. It looks like he has a few hours, and a nap would do him wonders in this state.</p><p>Souji puts his phone away and leans against the window. He's out like a light in seconds.</p><hr/><p>The flare of sun at the end of a tunnel wakes Souji up. He sits up and looks around groggily for a moment before remembering where he is. He leans back and sighs. His head is definitely clearing up, but his earlier decision to focus on getting to Dojima's house in one piece still seems like a good idea. He looks out the window absently and starts to run through what he needs to do to get there.</p><p>
  <em>'Okay... so, Dojima and Nanako haven't met me yet. And I need to act like I haven't met them either. Nanako is going to be nervous around me at first, but that's okay. Just give her time to get used to you, like last time. Oh right, Dojima is going to get called away right before dinner, if I remember that correctly. There's not much I can do about that right now though. Is there anything else...? We'll probably stop at the gas station again on the way home...'</em>
</p><p><em>'Actually...'</em> Souji realizes with a start,<em> 'This will be the first time in months I'll get to see the shopping district not covered in fog. Heck, it will be the first time in months I'll see </em>Inaba <em>not covered in fog.'</em> Excitement starts to well up inside Souji. Also hope? Seeing the town healthy again will be a huge relief. He breaks into a cheesy grin just at the thought of being able to walk through town, sight and sunlight unimpeded by the fog. It shouldn't mean so much, but it does.</p><p>The train passes a bend in the tracks, and suddenly he can see the outskirts of Inaba. It feels like a miracle to see it without it being covered in a sick yellow haze.</p><p><em>'I'll do everything in my power to keep it that way.'</em> Souji's hands clench into fists.</p><hr/><p>"Yaso-inaba. Yaso-inaba."</p><p>The train pulls into the station. Souji hops off the train, duffel bag in hand, and takes a deep breath. He's finally home again!</p><p>Its only really been about a month from his perspective, but Souji doesn't care. He starts to smile again.</p><p>Hang on. He's a city boy being forced to live out in the country with a relative he barely knows because his parents decided to go to America without him. He shouldn't be happy.</p><p>Souji quickly tries to wipe the grin off his face. It takes him a moment. When he's sure he looks like a sufficiently mopey teenager, he walks towards the station entrance. Sure enough, as he walks out and takes in his surroundings, he hears Dojima call out for him.</p><p>"Hey! Over here!"</p><p>Souji turns and sees his uncle standing there waving. Nanako is standing behind him. Souji feels another ridiculous wave of happiness hit him when he sees her, up and about, not confined to a hospital bed. He quickly tries to shove the feeling aside and maintain his poker face as he walks over.</p><p>"Well, you're more handsome in person than your photo." Dojima smiles and shakes Souji's hand. "Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you. Let's see... I'm your mother's younger brother... and that about sums it up."</p><p>"Its nice to meet you." Souji keeps his voice a detached neutral, like he usually does. Or did, rather. His friends had started breaking him of the habit as time went on. Its both easy and difficult to slip back into that role.</p><p>"Heh. You probably don't remember, but we've met. I've changed your diapers before, you know." Souji resists the urge to raise an eyebrow at the slightly awkward topic. "This here's my daughter." Dojima gently pushes Nanako forward. "Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin."</p><p>Nanako shuffles shyly before managing a quiet hello and immediately hiding behind her father. "Haha, what're you so shy for? Ow!" Nanako hits Dojima and keeps her eyes down. "Haha... Well then, lets get going. My car's over there." Dojima walks off with Nanako trailing closely behind.</p><p>Souji starts to follow them, but a girl walks past him and calls for his attention. "...Hey." Souji turns around to see her picking up a paper off the ground. "You dropped this." She's staring at him blankly.</p><p>"Oh. Thank you." Souji accepts the paper. Its the paper he wrote Dojima's address on.</p><p>"Whatever. All I did was pick it up." She's already walking away.</p><p>...Hang on. Did that happen last time?</p><p>"What's wrong?" Dojima gets Souji's attention again, and he follows him to the car.</p><hr/><p>Souji fell asleep again in the back of the car. The excitement of returning to Inaba had distracted him, but he still felt pretty terrible. He wakes up when they stop at the gas station. </p><p>"Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?"</p><p>"Uh-huh."</p><p>Dojima notices him yawning in the back seat. "We're stopping here for a few minutes. You can get up and stretch your legs if you want."</p><p>Dojima starts chatting with the attendant as Souji slides out of the car. Dojima walks off, and Souji suddenly finds himself in a conversation with the attendant. "Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here?"</p><p>"Huh?" Souji is still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.</p><p>"Haha, looks like you've had a long trip, kid."</p><p>Souji has had a long trip in more ways than one. "You can say that again."</p><p>"Well, if you need something to do after you've settled in, we're looking for part-time help here at Moel. Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student."</p><p>"Sure." Souji stifles another yawn and shakes the attendant's hand.</p><p>"Oh, I should get back to work." The attendant walks off.</p><p>Souji spots Nanako heading back and gives her a little wave. Suddenly his headache flares back up and he grips his head and grimaces. When he looks up again, Nanako is standing in front of him looking worried. "Are you okay? Did you get carsick? You don't look too good..." </p><p>Souji is leaning on the car slightly when Dojima walks over. "What's wrong? You okay?"</p><p>"Just a bit lightheaded." Souji understates.</p><p>"That's understandable. It must have been a long trip for you. Why not take a little walk, get some fresh air? Just let me know when you're ready to go."</p><p>Honestly, Souji probably shouldn't be walking, he should be sleeping off this headache. But he doesn't want to pass up the chance to poke around a fog-free shopping district. "Alright. I'll be right back." With great effort, Souji starts walking through the shopping district. His attention is immediately drawn to the girl he met at the station. He walks toward her.</p><p>"Hm...? Have we met before?" She's looking at him without recognition.</p><p>Wait... how did she get from the station to here before he did? "I met you earlier. At the station?"</p><p>"...Oh, yeah. That happened." Souji waits another few seconds, but the girl is staring into space again. He shrugs and walks away, but his head is full of questions.</p><p><em>'I definitely don't recognize her from last time'</em> And that's saying something after spending a year in a small town like this. <em>'Igor mentioned there would be differences. Is she one of them? ...I hope she'll be okay, she looked kind of lost.'</em></p><p>Souji shakes off his questions and looks up. He freezes in place.</p><p>There's a boy and a girl standing in the street, arguing. They look like siblings. Souji recognizes both of them.</p><p>Naoki Konishi, and his sister. Saki Konishi. Who is still alive and well.</p><p>Shit.</p><p>Souji stares for a moment before turning around and walking away from them.</p><p>How had he forgotten about this?! Saki was still alive for a good few days after he arrived in Inaba, he had even met her before she died. What is he supposed to do? Can he even save her with no allies, no persona, and only a couple days? What-</p><p>The headache. It starts pounding even worse, drowning out his panicked thought process. He heads back to the car in a daze.</p><hr/><p>Dojima and Nanako give him more worried looks, but don't say much as they drive the rest of the way home.</p><p>Souji barely remembers to act like he's never been to this house before. Like this wasn't the one place he had ever come to consider home. Dojima takes his duffel bag and tells him to go sit on the couch, and Souji is more than happy to do so. It has been a long, overwhelming day, and his head is still spinning with questions regarding what to do about Saki Konishi.</p><p>"Hey, are you alright?" Nanako is worried again.</p><p>"...'ve got a headache." Souji mumbles. His head is propped up in his hand.</p><p>"I can get you some medicine if you want." Nanako, you are the best cousin.</p><p>"Yes please."</p><p>Nanako comes back with a glass of water and some painkillers. Souji accepts them gratefully. He's no stranger to headaches, sometimes when he was a little too ruthless with persona fusing and swapping it felt like his skull wanted to crack open. He had taken to carrying a small bottle of pain killers for headache related emergencies.</p><p>"You sure you're okay?" Dojima is standing behind Nanako examining Souji.</p><p>"He just has a headache." Nanako answers for him.</p><p>"...Alright. Just let me know if you need anything else." Dojima looks a bit skeptical, but lets it go for now. "Do you feel up to eating dinner?"</p><p>Souji considers. "Uh... not really. Sorry. You and Nanako can start without me."</p><p>Dojima accepts this and he and Nanako sit down at the table with their dinner. "There's another tray of food in the fridge if you get hungry later on." Dojima informs him.</p><p>"Thank you." Souji is trying not to doze off too much.</p><p>"I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents... It's rough being a kid."</p><p>"I don't mind." Souji shifts to look at Dojima better. "It'll be nice to stay in one place for so long."</p><p>Dojima chuckles. "Well, I hope you're right. It's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone like you around. So long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself at home."</p><p>"Thank you." Souji smiles at his uncle and cousin, warm gratitude welling up in his chest. He closes his eyes for a second and savors the feeling of being home again.</p><p>"Haha, you're welcome. Well, anyway... Let's eat." Dojima barely gets to pick up his chopsticks before his phone rings. "Ugh... Who's calling at this hour?" He sets his chopsticks down again and pulls out his phone. "Dojima speaking."</p><p>"..." Dojima stands up abruptly and turns away from Souji and Nanako. "Yeah? I see... So where is it? ...All right, I'm on my way." He sighs. "Looks like I made the right decision to skip the booze..." Dojima turns back to them. "Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me." Nanako stands up like she wants to object, but Dojima continues. "I don't know how late I'll be. Nanako, you help out Souji, ok?"</p><p>"...Okay." She looks far more resigned than a six year old should be.</p><p>Souji zones out a bit as Dojima leaves, Nanako confirming that she brought in the laundry before it started raining. He snaps back to attention as the TV turns on and immediately launches into the weather for tomorrow. Heavy rain all day. That means fog soon. Souji forces himself to calm down. <em>'Look, just a few hours ago, you time traveled a year into the goddamn past. Give yourself some time to breathe, or you'll give yourself a nervous breakdown.'</em></p><p>Nanako is eating quietly, lost in her own thoughts. Much like Souji lately, actually. He decides to try and distract her a bit. "So... what does your dad do?" Probably not the best topic for distracting her from her worries. Whoops.</p><p>"He... investigates stuff. Like crime scenes. My dad's a detective." She glances at him, then goes back to poking her food.</p><p>"It must be tough."</p><p>"It's okay. I'm used to it."</p><p>Souji doesn't say anything after that. Its possible to get used to all sorts of things, like fighting for your life through foggy corridors. It doesn't make it okay.</p><p>The TV starts playing news of the scandal between Taro Namatame, Misuzu Hiiragi, and Mayumi Yamano. Souji's hand tightens into a fist in his lap. Yamano is going to be found dead tomorrow, and Namatame will spend the next year kidnapping and nearly killing his best friends. But would Namatame really try to kill the woman he was having an affair with? Souji never knew him that well, but he didn't really seem the type in retrospect. Then again, he didn't seem to understand how the TV World worked, so maybe murder wasn't his intention? But how could he not know if he killed both Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi?</p><p>Questions, questions, questions.</p><p>"...This is boring." Normally Souji would agree, but he happens to be a little more personally invested than usual in this particular gossip. Nanako changes the channel anyway.</p><p>"Every day's great at your Junes!~"</p><p>Some things never change.</p><p>Souji decides to treat himself to an early bed time. He's out like a light in seconds, for once.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Invisible Real Enemy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji has a weird dream. It probably doesn't mean anything.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He's crouched on some kind of tile floor, surrounded by fog. He stands up and is immediately on guard. It's been months, but life or death instincts honed over the course of a very intense year come flying back to him as he finds himself, once again, surrounded by fog.</p><p>He scans his surroundings quickly for any shapes or sounds or signs of movement, tense and ready to defend himself. His heart is racing. ...He can't sense anything but the path and some kind of ceiling hidden by fog.</p><p>The path behind him ends in a mess of misplaced tiles. Souji cautiously walks, then jogs, forward.</p><p>"Do you seek the truth...?" The voice comes from all around him. Souji ducks and quickly scans for incoming threats, but doesn't stop moving. He doesn't have a weapon, and he can't locate his enemy. If he stops moving he's more vulnerable.</p><p>"Hmm... interesting. If it is the truth you desire, come and find me."</p><p>Souji keeps jogging.</p><p>He finds a red and black door. It reminds him of something.</p><p>Souji readies himself. The door swirls open.</p><hr/><p>He's standing in a wide expanse of white and fog. The fog gently moves around him, and he spots a figure ahead of him. Finally, he can see his target.</p><p>"Hmhmhm... Try all you like... Nothing will change..."</p><p>Souji crushes the card in his hand. A silhouette looms behind him, familiar and correct. Electricity bursts forth and connects with his target. Souji charges after it, sword ready. He swings, it connects.</p><p>"Hmm... It seems you can still see a little, despite your time in the fog..."</p><p>Souji continues his assault, the silhouette at his side aids him.</p><p>"I see... Indeed... That is very interesting information..."</p><p>Lightning rains down.</p><p>"But... You will not catch me so easily... If what you seek is "truth," then your search will be even harder..."</p><p>The fog thickens greatly. Souji can no longer see his target. Without a target, swinging his sword will be not only useless, but dangerous. He drops into a guard position, scanning once again, ready to react at a moment's notice.</p><p>"Everyone sees what they want to... And the fog only deepens..."</p><p>"Will we ever meet...? At a place other than here..."</p><p>"Hmhm... I look forward to it..."</p><p>Souji's body feels heavy. Despite his vigilance, he begins to fall. A clawed hand catches him before he hits the ground.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Second Impressions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji meets some of his friends for the second/first time.</p>
<p>He stops to help Yosuke after a bike crash, then does not stop to help him before or after he gets kicked in the nads. Self preservation may have played a part in the latter decision.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Tuesday, April 12</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Morning</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>Souji wakes up feeling much better. As he gets ready for school, he stops to appreciate the familiar weight of his Yasogami High jacket. If only he had his TV glasses.</p>
<p>He eats breakfast with Nanako, and walks to school with her when she asks. Of course, he already knows exactly where his school is, but Nanako isn't supposed to know that, and he isn't going to pass up the chance to spend time with her.</p>
<p>It isn't very long after he and Nanako go their separate ways that he hears a familiar bell ring, and an even more familiar panicked yell. Souji quickly side-steps out of the way of Yosuke, who is... trying to ride a bike on a wet road with one hand, while holding an umbrella in the other? Souji isn't sure what else Yosuke was expecting when he inevitably crashes into a telephone pole.</p>
<p>Poor Yosuke. While Souji is elated to finally see his partner again, it's a bit of an awkward situation. He's hopping around in pain from a rather sensitive location. Souji watches him for a moment. What is he supposed to do here? Yosuke doesn't know him yet. Souji is actually pretty sure he just walked past him the first time, but it feels like a jerk move to leave his partner like this after everything that never happened.</p>
<p>As Souji is thinking this, his eyes fall on Yosuke's umbrella, which is sitting on the ground a few feet away from him while he gets soaked. He walks forward.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Why do these things happen to him?</p>
<p>Yosuke wishes he knew why the universe seems to have it out for him as tries to recover enough to stand up straight. God, he hopes nobody saw that. They probably did though, there was at least one person he swerved to avoid, they probably saw the whole thing. Great, as if his classmates needed another excuse to laugh at him. His bike is probably in even worse shape than before, and the rain that's currently soaking his hair and jacket is probably also not great for his headphones, but there's not much Yosuke can do about that at the moment. And its not like anyone's going to stop to help, this whole idiot town hates his guts...</p>
<p>Suddenly the rain stops hitting him. It takes him a moment to notice. When he does, he turns his head and finds himself looking at some random guy he doesn't know holding two umbrellas, one over himself, and the other over Yosuke.</p>
<p>Yosuke just blinks for a moment in surprise. The guy quirks an eyebrow at him. "Oh... Uh, hey. Thanks." Yosuke is feeling a bit cautious, people aren't <em>nice</em> to him here. He slowly stands up somewhat straight, and takes his umbrella back when the guy offers it to him.</p>
<p>"Maybe you should walk the rest of the way." The guy seems amused, and Yosuke feels a brief surge of irritation, which he shoves aside. This guy actually stopped to help, he can't be all bad. He takes a moment to look the guy over. He's got grey hair trimmed more or less into a bowl-cut, and he's wearing the Yasogami High uniform, same as him.</p>
<p>Yosuke realizes he's still in too much pain to do much walking, or to pick up his bike for that matter, so he tries to start a conversation instead. "I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you new here?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I just got here yesterday, actually. I'm living with my uncle for the year. My name's Souji Seta, nice to meet you."</p>
<p>Sweet! Someone who probably won't hold a grudge against him for no reason! "Cool! I'm Yosuke Hanamura. My family only moved here six months ago, actually."</p>
<p>"I'm a second year. You?"</p>
<p>"I'm a second year too. Maybe we'll end up in the same class!" Yosuke gives Seta his usual grin.</p>
<p>"Maybe." Seta has just finished picking up Yosuke's bike, and hands it to him. "Are you good to start walking? I need to drop by the faculty office before school starts."</p>
<p>"Oh, right. Transfer student." They start walking towards the school. The bike squeals a bit in protest. "Ah... great." Yosuke sighs. "Sounds like my bike's even more screwed up now."</p>
<p>He looks up and catches Seta looking at him funny. "...What? Do I have something on my face?"</p>
<p>"...No." The transfer student looks away quickly. "You just... look familiar."</p>
<p>"You think?" Yosuke studies Seta more closely. "...Nah, not ringing any bells. Where are you from?"</p>
<p>"Well... The city, I guess? I've never stayed in one place long enough to really be "from" somewhere."</p>
<p>"Huh. That sounds rough." They've arrived at the school's entrance. Yosuke begins to turn towards the bike rack. "Well, see you in class, maybe!"</p>
<p>"Maybe." Seta nods, and they continue their separate ways. Yosuke actually feels a little excited about school, for once.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Souji's face is expressionless. He's following Kinshiro Morooka, aka "King Moron", to classroom 2-2. It's been so long since he's had to deal with one of Morooka's legendary rants, and unlike so much else lately, this was one thing he was not happy to experience again.</p>
<p>"Let's get this over with." Morooka stalks into the classroom. Souji follows reluctantly.</p>
<p>"Awright, shut your traps! I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward!" Morooka is practically screaming. Souji continues to stand stoically against the verbal assault. "First things first! Just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons!" </p>
<p>Souji's anti-Morooka instincts finally kick in at this point, and he starts tuning him out. He manages to catch Yosuke's eye and subtly makes a face. Yosuke replies with a wince and a small shrug, and returns to his slumped position and looks generally miserable. Souji returns some of his attention to Morooka. He catches the word "loser" and gets the vague impression he's been insulted.</p>
<p>"Tell 'em your name kid, and make it quick."</p>
<p>Souji's typical modus operandi prior to Inaba had been to fly under the radar as much as possible. In this situation, that would mean politely introducing himself with as few words as he could manage and wait to be dismissed. But Souji has just spent a year risking his life fighting horrifying abominations to save people from their own suppressed selves. He's time-traveled a whole goddamn year just to be here. He has been through the shit.</p>
<p>There's a moment of tense silence.</p>
<p>He looks Morooka dead in the eye.</p>
<p>"...You calling me a loser?" Souji asks calmly. </p>
<p>There's another moment of silence, this time dumbstruck.</p>
<p>He doesn't break eye contact.</p>
<p>Morooka blinks first, but recovers fairly quickly. "Hrnh..." He looks like he's about to blow a fuse. "That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately."</p>
<p>Souji turns back towards the back of the room impassively as Morooka continues to rant and rave at him. The entire class is looking at him, which somehow makes him way more nervous than King Moron once he notices. He can get away with calmly defying Morooka by pretending he's facing down a shadow. Standing with the full scrutiny and judgment of his classmates? Not nearly as simple.</p>
<p>He quickly glances at his friends-but-not-yet to judge their reactions. Yosuke's awestruck expression quickly melts into a small grin he tries to hide. Chie looks faintly impressed, but that becomes annoyance as Morooka goes on and on. Yukiko looks shocked for a moment, then very uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Souji is careful not to let his gaze linger on them and fixes his line of sight on an old poster on the back wall. He focuses on keeping his expression sufficiently stoic while he waits for his misery to end.</p>
<p>Finally, Chie rescues him. "Excuse me! Is it okay if the transfer student sits here?"</p>
<p>"Huh? Yeah, sure. Ya hear that? Your seat's over there. So hurry up and siddown already!" Thank you, Chie.</p>
<p>Souji gratefully slides into the relative anonymity of his desk. It feels strange to be sitting here again. It's familiar, but subtly different from what he remembers.</p>
<p>Chie leans over. "He's the worst, huh? Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class... Well, we just have to hang in there for a year." Less than a year actually, if things go the same as last time, Morooka will be dead before the end of the year.</p>
<p>Souji sighs quietly and resigns himself to praying for the end of class.</p>
<hr/>
<p><span class="u">Tue. 4/12</span><br/>- First day of school, second day back -</p>
<p><span class="u">I.T. Missions:</span><br/>&gt; Identify and catch K.<br/>    Identification already done, arguably. But I have some doubts still. <br/>    Talk to T.N. when available, get their side of story.</p>
<p>&gt; Get rid of the fog (somehow)<br/>    N.S. was right, we still know jack squat about the fog, just surface level affects. <br/>    - fatigue, nausea, unease<br/>    - Stronger effects on non-users<br/>    - Shadows go bearserk when it clears on other side<br/>    - Never cleared after N.D. was kidnapped, got worse over time</p>
<p>
  <span class="u">I.T. Urgent Issues:</span>
</p>
<p>&gt; Possible to save S.K.?</p>
<p>    <span class="u">Timeline:</span></p>
<p>    <span class="u">4/13: </span><br/>    S.K. on TV<br/>    M.C. &amp; Izanagi?</p>
<p>    <span class="u">4/14:</span><br/>    S.K. pushed<br/>    We fall in<br/>    Fog deadline midnight</p>
<p>    <span class="u">Options:</span><br/>    - prevention (probably impossible w/ limited knowledge)<br/>    *I don't know when or where<br/>    *Don't even know who for sure</p>
<p>    - typical method (death wish)<br/>    *I have a 24h window, maybe w/ Izanagi<br/>    *Could try bringing Y.H. &amp; C.S. when we fall, might get them killed probably if they agree to come<br/>    *S.K. shadow weaknesses unknown, would have to rely on items for coverage</p>
<p>If fail/give up, Y.H. won't be happy if they find out<br/>If die trying, everything doomed anyway.</p>
<p>No do-overs, be careful first.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Souji sighs and taps his pencil on the notebook in front of him. He still feels uncomfortable about writing down sensitive future information like this in public, or at all really, but he had been so bored in class and had a lot on his mind he needed to sort out. Hopefully the abbreviations of names and terms will keep anyone from figuring out what it means if they glance over his shoulder.</p>
<p>He looks over the Urgent Issues section again. Saki Konishi's odds are looking... bad, to say the least. Anything he could do runs a major risk of screwing up literally everything. Souji's death right now would leave the potential Investigation Team without means to access the TV World, even if they could do this without him. Chie or Yosuke's deaths would be a crippling blow to morale and manpower, they might not even be able to rescue Yukiko without all three of them. Preventing Saki from being taken in the first place would require stalking her, which would probably get him arrested and alienate the entire town, including his future team members.</p>
<p>Souji's heart sinks and his throat feels tight. </p>
<p>...Its starting to look like he'll have to give up on Saki.</p>
<p>"That's all for today. Normal lectures will start tomorrow."</p>
<p>Souji closes the notebook as his classmates start gathering their things to go. He'll re-evaluate tomorrow when they fall into the TV World. If he can summon Izanagi, he'll reconsider his options. If he can't...</p>
<p>The school intercom chimes, announcing they aren't allowed to leave yet. Yosuke groans behind him. "Hey, Seta."</p>
<p>Souji finally snaps out of his thoughts and turns around to face Yosuke, who's leaning forward on his elbows. "Hanamura?" It's more uncomfortable to be using last names than Souji is willing to admit.</p>
<p>"You doing anything after school?" Yosuke grins at him. Souji tells his heart to stop fluttering.</p>
<p>Before Souji can even start scrambling for an answer, sirens start wailing close by. Everyone turns to the windows. "If I was, I think I might have to cancel my plans." Souji states dryly. Their classmates are chattering excitedly.</p>
<p>Yosuke frowns. "Whatever happened can't be that serious." It's Inaba. Nothing serious or interesting ever happens here.</p>
<p>"We'll know soon enough, probably." Souji leans back in his chair and closes his eyes. He needs to be careful not to reveal his hand, it's far too easy to tell stuff to Yosuke.</p>
<p>He hears Yosuke grumbling behind him and tries not to smile. He's glad he stopped to help him this morning. He opens his eyes again and sees Chie talking to Yukiko about the Midnight Channel rumor.</p>
<p>"Its just, I heard a guy in the class next door yell something like, "My soulmate is Yamano, the announcer!" That's Chie, giving the team their first clue of the actual purpose of the Midnight Channel.</p>
<p>The intercom chimes again, telling the students there's been an incident, and to go straight home. The chatter and gossip immediately starts up again and the classroom starts to empty.</p>
<p>Souji stands up to go, and notices Yosuke's seat is already empty. Weird. He would have expected him to want to stay and speculate about the "incident".</p>
<p>Chie and Yukiko walk up to him. Chie invites him to walk home with them, which is nice of her, even if her reason is curiosity. The girls are so cute together.</p>
<p>...He suddenly realizes why Yosuke left so quickly when he walks up reluctantly, with an expression of deep nervousness. Oh dear. Souji remembers this.</p>
<p>"Uh, umm, Miss Satonaka...?"</p>
<p>Crap, split second decision. Is there anything Souji can do to save Yosuke from getting hit in the nads twice in one day? Preferably without putting himself in the firing line?</p>
<p>"This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see..." Yosuke is holding a DVD case nervously.</p>
<p>Souji feels like he's watching a slow motion train wreck.</p>
<p>"And... I'm really sorry! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!" Yosuke bows as he hands over the case in a futile attempt to stop the train before it hits him.</p>
<p>"Se ya! Thanks!" Yosuke attempts to outrun the train.</p>
<p>"Stop right there! What did you do to my DVD?!" The train will not be deterred. It is faster than him.</p>
<p>Souji decides it's in his best interests to let the train run its course.</p>
<p>"Argh!" He looks away with a wince.</p>
<p>Chie opens the DVD case. "What the?! I can't believe this! It's completely cracked... My "Trial of the Dragon"...!"</p>
<p>"I think mine's cracked too... C-Critical hit to the nads..." Okay, that's actually pretty funny.</p>
<p>"A-Are you all right?" Yukiko looks vaguely horrified. Souji feels vaguely guilty.</p>
<p>"Oh, Yukiko-san... Are you worried about me...? Yosuke attempts something vaguely flirtatious. Souji stops feeling as guilty for some reason. He decides not to read too deeply into it.</p>
<p>"He's fine, Yukiko. Let's ditch him and go home." Chie strides out the door without a second glance, Yukiko follows.</p>
<p>Souji looks at Yosuke, who is still doubled over in pain. As he walks out the classroom door, he pats Yosuke on the back. "My condolences." He follows Chie and Yukiko and leaves his partner on his own.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm aware that Souji's future-notes are kind of hard to parse. Let me know if it's too obnoxious and I'll try to make them more readable.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. A Quick Stroll Past a Crime Scene</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji walks home with some friends and stumbles onto a crime scene. This brings back bad memories.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Tuesday, April 12</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>After School</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>Chie makes small talk with Souji as they walk towards the front gate.</p><p><em>'Hang on... It that Kubo?!'</em> Souji eyes widen slightly in surprise. Sure enough, its Mitsuo Kubo, the once and future murderer of Kinshiro "King Moron" Morooka. Fate sure works in strange ways.</p><p>"You're Yuki, right? Y-You want to go hang out somewhere?" Kubo steps forward a little.</p><p>"What...? Wh-Who are you?" Yukiko shuffles closer to Chie.</p><p>Ah, crap. Another awkward situation. Is there any way Souji can help here? Trying to distract Kubo is likely to be counter-productive, given how defensive and volatile he is. Threats may drive Kubo off, but it might cause an even bigger scene and put Yukiko and Chie on guard around him...</p><p>Two of their classmates start gossiping about the Amagi Challenge. They don't even lower their voices. Souji scowls at them mentally.</p><p>"Um, s-so... are you coming or not?" Kubo is getting frustrated.</p><p>"I-I'm not going..."</p><p>"...Fine!" Kubo runs away angrily. Good. Looks like the situation resolved itself without him. Souji realizes how tense he is and forces himself to relax.</p><p>While Souji is busy taking long, steady breaths, Chie clarifies to Yukiko that Kubo was attempting to ask her on a date.</p><p>"Yo, Yukiko-san. Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh?" Yosuke wheels his bike around the corner. "Man, you're cruel... You got me the same way last year."</p><p>"I don't recall doing that."</p><p>"Woah, you serious? So then, you wanna hang out sometime?!" Yosuke is grinning and winking at Yukiko. </p><p>"...I'd rather not."</p><p>"That'll teach me to get my hopes up..." Yosuke glaces at Souji. "Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer student too much." He hops on his bike and rides away before they can respond.</p><p>"We're just curious, is all!" Chie scowls after him.</p><p>"U-Um, I'm sorry for dragging you into this..."</p><p>Chie notices the small crowd of spectators. "C'mon, let's go. Everyone's staring." She walks off. Souji and Yukiko exchange a glance before following.</p><hr/><p>"Ah... so you came here because of your parent's job. Haha, I thought it was something way more serious." Chie is silent for a moment, looking out at the fields they're walking past. Souji decides to bring up a certain topic.</p><p>"Hey, Satonaka?"</p><p>"Huh? Yes?"</p><p>"About earlier, with Hanamura. Did you really need to...?" Souji trails off. He always feels uncomfortable confronting his friends, but it's going to bother him if he lets this go a second time.</p><p>"Huh? Oh. Well, I mean..." Chie shifts uncomfortably "He broke my DVD!"</p><p>"But you didn't know that at the time. You kicked him before you checked, and after he already promised to pay you back."</p><p>"I..." Chie rubs her arm uncertainly.</p><p>"He has a point Chie." Yukiko agrees.</p><p>"..." Chie stays silent.</p><p>"...Maybe you should apologize to him." Souji suggests.</p><p>"But-"</p><p>"I think its a good idea too, Chie." Yukiko looks sternly at Chie. "I don't think Hanamura-kun deserved that."</p><p>"...You're right." Chie shoves her fists in her pockets and looks away. "...I'll apologize. But he better not rub it in my face!"</p><p>"If he does, <em>I'll</em> kick him next." Souji mutters. Yukiko giggles.</p><p>"...Hey, what's that?" Chie redirects their attention ahead of them. She and Yukiko start walking forward again. Souji takes a deep breath before following.</p><p>They stop at the back of a small crowd of onlookers. Ahead, there's a street blocked off by police tape. The proto-Investigation Team listens to the gossiping crowd.</p><p>"Wait... What did she just say? A dead body?!" Chie looks startled. Souji looks up at the antenna and feels a bit sick. He glances at Yukiko, and quickly looks away again.</p><p>"Hey, what're you doing here?" Dojima walks up and looks at them sternly. He frowns at his nephew in particular.</p><p>"We were on our way home from school." Souji supplies, tearing his eyes away from the antenna.</p><p>"Huh... I should have figured that'd happen." Dojima looks aggrieved. "That damn principle. We told him not to let them through here..."</p><p>"You know this guy?" Chie 'whispers'.</p><p>"I'm Detective Dojima, his guardian. Uhh... Well, how should I say this... I hope you get along with him." Dojima glances between them. "But you three really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home."</p><p>Just then Adachi runs past them and promptly hurls into the bushes. Dojima gets distracted yelling at him. The girls talk nervously to each other, before heading off. Souji nods to them as they leave, still lost in thought.</p><p>He stops by the shopping district and grabs some supplies. Its not really "going straight home" like he's supposed to, but the shopping district is close enough to the house, and Souji wants to make sure he has some emergency healing items. Just in case.</p><hr/><p>"I wonder if Dad's not coming home again tonight..."</p><p>Souji glances at Nanako, but doesn't say anything. The news begins report Mayumi Yamano's death.</p><p>"The initial results of the Inaba Police Department's investigation have revealed..."</p><p>"Ah! The Inaba Police Department! Th-That's where Dad works!" Nanako bites her lip.</p><p>"...It'll be okay." Souji says in near monotone.</p><p>"...I know. That's his job, so this stuff happens."</p><p>Souji continues to watch the news blankly. He's not really processing the words.</p><p>...This will probably be about Saki Konishi in a few days. And there's not much he can do about it.</p><p>"Oh, it's Junes!" Nanako perks up from her seat.</p><p>"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day! Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! ~Every day's great at your Junes!~"</p><p>"~Every day's great at your Junes!~" Nanako cheerfully repeats. She looks at Souji, who blinks at her for a second then sits up straighter.</p><p>"Every day's great at your Junes!" Souji is not nearly as good at singing as Nanako. But he tries his best for his little cousin.</p><p>"You memorized it already? I'm the best one in my class!" Nanako continues singing the jingle. Souji closes his eyes and listens.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>'<span class="u">April 12:</span></em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm going to try to keep some kind of journal, cause I need to put my thoughts down somewhere before I go nuts.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm Souji Seta. I've just moved in with my uncle and cousin in the small town of Inaba. I'll be here for a year.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But I've already spent a year in Inaba. The best and worst year of my life, as Yosuke put it a year from now. I became the leader of the Investigation Team, a bunch of teenagers investigating a supernatural serial murder and kidnapping case. I'm still not sure where we went wrong, but everything fell apart in November, and we spent the rest of the year in a dying town full of fog.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As a last resort, the team decided to send me back to figure out what went wrong and fix things. This is the night of my second day back.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It's... been an experience. I think I spent the entire first day in survival mode, I was dazed and had a massive headache. It was all I could do to focus on getting home safely.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Today, I met Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko again. It's so strange seeing them like this. They look younger. Less sure of themselves, but also less wary and worn down. Before the next year chews them up and spits them out.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yamano's body was discovered today, by Saki Konishi. Tomorrow, Saki will be on TV. The next day she'll be missing. The day after she'll be dead.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I don't think I can do anything about it. I can't prevent her abduction because I don't know how, when or where it will happen. I don't have Izanagi back yet, I might not have him until after Saki is dead. That leaves me on my own and potentially Persona-less with a 24 hour window to rescue her, and I don't know how strong her shadow is or what its strengths and weaknesses are.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I can't go back in time again. I have no second chances left, and if I die now, Inaba and possibly the world are screwed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I hate that I have to make this decision. Seeing the crime scene where Yamano died today made me feel sick, and I... I just can't. I can't deal with this. I know someone is going to die, but I can't save them because it will doom everyone else. I know that but it still makes me sick, it still feels like my fault. A living person with friends and family and hopes and dreams is going to die alone in a horrific way in another world. I just... I don't know how to deal with this...<br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I need to let go of this, I can feel it killing me. I'm a terrible person and I need to stop thinking about this situation I'm in.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>...Yosuke said I'd run into ethical dilemmas. He said I could handle them. Did he imagine this? I don't know and I can't ask him now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I just want everything to be okay. Is that too much...?'</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Hugs and Steak Skewers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yosuke takes Souji and Chie to Souzai Daigaku for steak skewers.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Wednesday, April 13</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Morning</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>"Hey, Nanako? Can I have a hug?"</p><p>Nanako turns around from where she was lining up eggs for breakfast, and sees her cousin standing at the foot of the stairs. He doesn't look so good. "Are you still sick?" Her brow furrows. He had been sick two days ago, is it back?</p><p>"No... just tired. And sad." He definitely looks like both of those things. Nanako decides he definitely needs that hug.</p><p>She walks over to him and he kneels down to hug her better. Nanako is surprised to realize that she also wanted a hug. They embrace for a few more seconds before Souji lets go and stands up slowly. "Thank you, Nanako. Do you need help with breakfast?"</p><p>"Um..." She looks back at the eggs and thinks for a moment. "Could you put the toast in the toaster?"</p><p>"Yep." He shuffles over to grab the bread while she starts on the eggs. They spend the rest of the morning quietly getting ready for the day, but its not a bad kind of quiet.</p><hr/><p>Souji inhales the morning air on his way to school. He didn't sleep much last night, but he feels better after spending the morning with Nanako. More at peace. He can handle whatever today throws at him.</p><p>
  <em>*zoom*</em>
</p><p>
  <em>*crash!*</em>
</p><p>Yep, he can definitely handle this. He smirks and walks over to rescue his partner from a trashcan.</p><hr/><p>Yosuke groans when he sees who it is. "...We're not going to make a habit out of this, are we?"</p><p>"Depends on if you plan to make a habit of crashing your bike every day." Seta looks amused as he hauls Yosuke to his feet. "You're okay, right?</p><p>"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Say, did you hear about the incident from yesterday? They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna!" He picks up his bike. "You think it was some kind of warning? There's no way something that weird could've been an accident."</p><p>"I dunno... maybe she fell out of a hot air balloon."</p><p>Yosuke snorts. "Yeah, right. Its hard to imagine a body ending up there by accident. Still, dangling a dead body over a roof like that... That's just messed up. Then again, it's pretty messed up to kill someone in the first place."</p><p>Something like a grimace flashes across Seta's face and he looks away. Yosuke quirks and eyebrow slightly, before he realizes something. "Oh crap, we're late!" He glances at his bike. "You wanna ride? It's a little squeaky, but it should be fine."</p><hr/><p>After several hours of tuning out King Moron's familiar screech, school is finally letting out. Souji wants another hug from Nanako.</p><p>Yosuke walks up. Maybe Yosuke would give him a hug...? "So, you getting used to this place?"</p><p>Souji is busy packing his bag and reminding himself that Yosuke barely knows him at this point. "Yeah."</p><p>"Wow, that was fast." </p><p>Souji chuckles. <em>'You have no idea...'</em></p><p>"There isn't much to do here compared to the big city, but there is that certain... something you can't get anywhere else." Yosuke sounds like he's trying to convince himself. "The air's clean, the food's great... Oh, you know about the local delicacy?" He smirks. "It's grilled steak, man! Like that's anything special, huh?" Souji briefly wonders how that even became a thing. "I know a place where you can get it cheap. Wanna come? You've helped me out two days in a row now, so it's on me."</p><p>Souji nods as Chie walks up. "Aw, man, now I want steak. Thanks a lot, Hanamura."</p><p>"Oh... Satonaka." Yosuke looks wary. Souji can't blame him. "Did you need something?"</p><p>"I just... wanted to say..." Chie appears to be struggling. "...m'sorry."</p><p>Yosuke looks dumbstruck. "...Huh?"</p><p>"I said I'm sorry for kicking you yesterday, okay?!" Chie throws her arms up in the air. "It was dumb and mean and I'm sorry!"<br/> <br/>"Oh. Uh... thank you?" Yosuke glances at Souji, looking for help.</p><p>"Just don't make a big deal out of it." Chie shoves her hands back in her pockets.</p><p>Yukiko giggles from her desk. "I think you're the one making a big deal out of it, Chie."</p><p>Chie turns red. "Yukiko!" She grumbles.</p><p>"I'm only paying for me and Seta here, but if you two want to come we were gonna go get steak." Yosuke offers.</p><p>"I'll pass." Yukiko smiles. "I need to help out at the inn today."</p><p>"Hrmm..." Chie considers grumpily. "Fine. I'll come. Souzai Daigaku, right?"</p><p>"Yep, that's the place." Yosuke grins and the group heads out.</p><p>He's not sure, but Souji is pretty sure this went much smoother than last time.</p><p>They're halfway to the shopping district by the time Souji realizes this way they won't meet Saki at Junes. He's not sure how he should feel about that, but he feels relieved anyway.</p><hr/><p>"Here ya go, man. One tray of steak skewers." Yosuke slides a tray over to Souji, then sits down with a second tray, and sets a third in front of Chie.</p><p>"Wha- huh?!" Chie is confused.</p><p>"I changed my mind." Yosuke starts eating his skewer.</p><p>"But- But I kicked you in the nuts yesterday!"</p><p>Yosuke swallows and raises an eyebrow. "Are you going to complain about free steak? That doesn't sound like you."</p><p>"..." Chie looks conflicted for a second, then takes a grumpy bite of steak.</p><p>Souji takes a bite to cover his smile.</p><p>"You know, I haven't been here in a while." Chie is looking around the shopping district as she chews.</p><p>"Dude, don't talk with your mouth full." Yosuke grimaces at Chie. She rolls her eyes.</p><p>Chie swallows before she talks again. "...A lot of the shops have closed."</p><p>Yosuke sighs at his steak skewer. "...You can't blame it all on Junes can you?" He mutters.</p><p>Souji quirks an eyebrow at him. Yosuke sighs again. "...My dad is the manager of the local Junes. That's why we moved here six months ago. Since then, a lot of local businesses have closed 'cause they're losing customers." Yosuke mumbles the last bit.</p><p>"A lot of the locals are kinda jerks to his family because of it." Chie adds. Yosuke glances at her before going back to his skewer.</p><p>There's a period of silent eating, then Chie leans forward with a gleam in her eye. "So... You guys ever heard of the Midnight Channel?"</p><p>Souji and Yosuke glance at each other. Souji shrugs, Yosuke quirks an eyebrow.</p><p>"You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen..." Chie pauses dramatically. "And they say that person's your soulmate."</p><p>"...What? For a second, I thought you were actually going to say something useful." Yosuke has no idea just how much he'll be using this information over the course of the next year. "How can you get all excited over such a childish urban legend like that?"</p><p>"Childish, huh? You don't believe it, do you?!"</p><p>"Of course I don't!"</p><p>"Well, it's raining tonight! Let's all try it out- then you'll see!"</p><p>"Try it out...? Wait, you haven't even tried it yourself?!" Yosuke looks at Chie incredulously. "Wow. I'm trying to remember the last time I heard something this stupid..." He shakes his head. </p><p>"I'm in." Chie and Yosuke look at Souji in surprise. They may have forgotten he was there.</p><p>"Really?!" They both say this at once, in very different tones.</p><p>"Sure." Souji shrugs and smirks. He raises an eyebrow at Yosuke.</p><p>"Ugh... fine. No promises though." Yosuke rolls his eyes and takes another bite of steak.</p><p>"You better remember!" Chie digs back into her own steak skewer.</p><p>Good. Both of them should watch tonight, if only out of spite in Yosuke's case. They all finish their skewers in peace before going their separate ways.</p><hr/><p>Dojima finally comes home during dinner, and falls asleep on the couch while the interview with Saki Konishi plays on the news. Souji watches Nanako try so hard not to be upset with her father, but she's only six. She shouldn't have to be the one running the household. </p><p>"...I can go to Junes with you sometime if you want."</p><p>"Really?" Nanako looks hopeful, but also cautious. She's used to promises being broken. "Are you sure?"</p><p>"Yeah." He gives her a small smile. "I'll probably be busy for the next few days, but I should have some time next week." Yukiko gets kidnapped next week, but if Souji had time to join two clubs last time, he can make time to spend with Nanako. "Do you mind if a couple of my friends tag along? I think you'd like them."</p><p>"Sure! I don't mind." Nanako perks up a little more. Souji smiles back at her. A hospital room and the beep of a heart monitor lingers in his mind.</p><hr/><p>Souji tries to sort out his schedule while waiting for midnight.</p><p><span class="u">4/13 W : Cloudy/Rainy (Today)</span><br/>&gt; Hung out w/ Chie and Yosuke</p><p><span class="u">4/14 Th : Rainy</span><br/>&gt; First TV trip</p><p><span class="u">4/15 F : Rainy</span><br/>&gt; Blurry MC / Warning</p><p><span class="u">4/16 Sa : Rainy</span><br/>&gt; Clear MC / Taken</p><p><span class="u">4/17 Su : Sunny</span><br/>&gt; Enter the castle<br/>&gt; Chie shadow</p><p><span class="u">4/18 M : Sunny</span><br/>&gt; Rescue schedule?</p><p><br/>Souji is starting to realize he doesn't actually remember the dates very well, but he's doing pretty well puzzling out the order of events based on what he does remember. It looks like he should wait at least until Monday to take Nanako to Junes. That could actually work well as a break day after facing Chie's shadow, if she's willing to take a break so soon.</p><p>He leans back in his chair and stretches. Probably Monday or Tuesday will be a break day, and he can ask Yosuke and Chie if they want to hang out with him and Nanako. Break days are just as important for mental health as physical health, after all.</p><p>Souji glances at the clock. Still over an hour to go. He sighs and pulls out his journal.</p><p>
  <em>'Today was good. I pulled Yosuke out of a trash can, and Chie actually took my advice and apologized for kicking him yesterday. Somehow we ended up at Souzai Daigaku for steak instead of heading to Junes, like we did the first time. That means we didn't meet Saki Konishi at the food court, which I'm going to count as a small mercy because I'm honestly not sure I could have handled it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I promised Nanako I'd take her to Junes next week. I know it's going to be busy with Yukiko's rescue, but we'll need to take break days anyway, and maybe I can get Yosuke and Chie to tag along. Oh! Remember to tell them about Nanako's mom this time, we don't need more awkward conversations if we can avoid them.'</em>
</p><hr/><p>The clock is finally a few minutes to midnight. He really needs to get a couple of books to read on rainy nights, just waiting and watching the clock count down is mind-numbingly boring.</p><p>Souji stands in front of the TV. Unfortunately, now that he's no longer working on his schedule, his thoughts turn to what, or rather who, he's about to see on the Midnight Channel, which reminds him of his current internal crises. He grimaces and tries to clamp down on those thoughts before they spiral again. He's no use to anyone if he gives himself a nervous breakdown.</p><p>Rain pounds against the window. The clock hits midnight.</p><p>The small TV flickers on, and glimpses of a girl in a Yasogami High uniform, dance across the screen. Souji's head flares with pain, and he hears a familiar voice.</p><p>
  <em>"I am thou. Thou art I. It is time, once again, to open the door."</em>
</p><p>Izanagi.</p><p>In a trance, Souji reaches for the television screen. </p><p>His eyes widen as he realizes he's just put his hand in the TV again. Whoops.</p><p>He tries to quickly jerk back, but it's too late, something grabs his arm and tries to pull him in. Just like before, he gets stuck on the frame and uses his free hand to shove himself free. </p><p>He hits his head on the table again. Maybe he should have moved it.</p><p>As Souji clutches his head and tries not to hiss in pain, Nanako comes to check on him. "Are you okay...?"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm okay. I just tripped and hit my head."</p><p>"Okay... Well, good night."</p><p>Souji rubs his head ruefully. He really should have been able to avoid that somehow. Oh well.</p><p>He crawls into bed and falls asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Fog All The Way Down</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The trio falls into a TV due to frankly ludicrous reasons. They find a spooky room and a squeaky bear.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Thursday, April 14</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Morning</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>Nanako gave him a few funny looks the next morning, but Souji somehow managed to turn it into a silly face competition, so it worked out. They spent a good portion of the morning trying to make the other laugh. Souji left for school in good spirits.</p><p>After an encounter with Chie stealing some of his umbrella space, Souji arrives at school. He uses some of his class time to sort out his plan for the day, reasoning that he's already sat through all of these classes, so it shouldn't be an issue if isn't paying the closest attention.</p><p>Today is the day they discuss the Midnight Channel. The conversation will remind Chie that she wants a bigger TV, so they'll head to the Junes electronics section, where Chie and Yosuke will make fun of him. Right, he needs to tell them about getting stuck in his TV, so they'll know to make fun of him later.</p><p>Souji pauses for a second at this line of thought, realizing that he is intentionally setting himself up to be made fun of. He shakes his head and moves on.</p><p>He'll prove them wrong, they'll freak out, Yosuke will have the worst timed need for a potty break, and they'll all fall into the TV World. Actually, is it worth trying to get Yosuke to go to the bathroom before hand? On one hand, Yosuke was very uncomfortable that whole trip, but on the other, Souji isn't sure how else to guarantee that all three of them end up falling in.</p><p>...Souji's not actually sure how that worked out the first time. His head had been stuck in a TV so he didn't actually see how it happened.</p><p>He decides its safest to let Yosuke have his bladder crisis. He wouldn't wish a full bladder inside the TV World on anyone, but it's for the greater good. Yosuke will understand.</p><hr/><p>After endless waiting, classes are finally over. Souji packs his things and double checks that his emergency snacks are packed. Yep. He's all set to fall into an eldritch abyss.</p><p>...Well, he's missing the golf club, but whatever. He'll buy some ice cubes later.</p><p>His classmates are discussing how Saki was the one who found the body, when Yosuke's uncertain stammering gets his attention.</p><p>"Y-Yo. Um..."</p><p>Souji waits patiently for Yosuke to continue.</p><p>"It's, uh, it's not really that important, but... Well, yesterday on TV, I..." Yosuke visibly aborts his current conversation attempt. "Oh, uhh... Never mind. Look, I'll tell you later. Ahaha..."</p><p>There's a brief silence. Yosuke fidgets.</p><p>"Yosuke, did you hear the rumor?" Chie walks up. Yosuke sighs quietly in relief, much to Souji's amusement. "Saki-senpai's supposedly the one who discovered that body."</p><p>"Really? I wonder if that's why I haven't seen her at school lately..." Yosuke trails off, and Souji realizes he isn't supposed to know who Saki is yet.</p><p>Before he can ask, Yukiko stands up to go. "Huh?" Chie looks up. "Hey, Yukiko, are you helping at the inn today too?"</p><p>"Things are really out of hand right now... I'm sorry." Yukiko looks exhausted and doesn't meet their eyes. Souji flashes back to a receding train platform, the tired and empty expressions slowly obscured by distance and fog-</p><p>"Is it just me, or does Yukiko-san seem way stressed out today?" Yosuke's voice pulls Souji back.</p><p>"I guess they're running her ragged..." Chie bites her lip and looks after Yukiko for a moment. She turns back to them. "By the way, did you see... it... last night?"</p><p>"Huh...? Uh, well... What about you?" Yosuke starts fidgeting again.</p><p>"I did! I seriously saw a girl!" Chie pauses and frowns. "But... my soulmate is a girl? What's that supposed to mean? I couldn't quite tell who it was, but it was a girl for sure..." Chie describes the girl she saw.</p><p>"Hey... I think that's the same person I saw. I couldn't make out that much detail, though. The image I saw was much blurrier..."</p><p>"Wait, so you saw it too?! And we saw the same girl...? Does that mean... we have the same soulmate?"</p><p>"How should I know?" Yosuke turns to Souji. "How 'bout you? Did you see it?"</p><p>Souji tells them about how he got his latest head injury.</p><p>"It sounds like we all saw the same person..." Yosuke gives him a look. "But, uh... What was that about hearing voices and your TV trying to eat you...?"</p><p>"I heard <em>a</em> voice."</p><p>"Yeah, that's not the point." Yosuke raises his eyebrow and smirks. "It sounds like you just fell asleep in front of your TV."</p><p>"That'd be one interesting dream, though. I like the part where you got stuck 'cause your TV was too small. That's pretty realistic. If it had been bigger-" There we go. Chie has an idea. "Ohhh, that reminds me. Our family's been talking about buying a bigger TV."</p><p>"Oh yeah? Well, flat-screen TVs are definitely in these days." Yosuke slips into sales-pitch mode. "Wanna go check 'em out on the way back? We're beefing up our electronics department this month."</p><p>"Oh, definitely! My parents don't know anything about electronics, and I've just gotta see my kung-fu movies on the big screen! Hwa-taaaa!" Chie strikes a pose.</p><p>"We've got some pretty big ones in stock, I bet they'd be big enough for you to fit into, hehe." Yosuke chuckles. </p><p>Souji just smiles. "We'll see."</p><hr/><p>"Seriously, dude. Why was it so important to buy pinwheels and a bag of ice?" Yosuke is looking at Souji funny. Souji can't really blame him. He just smiles and holds up a pinwheel, which he spins.</p><p>Thankfully, they arrive at the TV section and Chie changes the subject. "Wow, this is huge! And... Holy crap, it's expensive! Who buys something like this?"</p><p>Souji packs the pinwheel back into his bag and regards the large flat-screen TV fondly from behind Chie and Yosuke. The TV World may not have been all fun and games, but he associates the TV itself with meeting his friends before missions, and the relief after successfully living through another day fighting shadows. There were many times his teammates had ended up sprawled on the tile floor of the electronics department, exhausted but alive and in good spirits.</p><p>Yosuke shrugs. "Honestly, not many people shop for TVs here. That's why we don't have clerks around."</p><p>"Huh... Not worth trying then, I guess. Well, at least looking's free." Chie exchanges a glance with Yosuke. They both smirk and walk up to the TV.</p><p>They poke and tap the TV. "...Nope, can't get in. Figures." Yosuke grins and shrugs again.</p><p>"Haha, this proves it. It was all just a dream."</p><p>"Wouldn't be the strangest dream I've ever had." Souji states idly. There weren't even any luchadore masks involved.</p><p>"Besides, these flat-screen TVs are so thin, you'd just end up on the other side..." Yosuke shakes his head sharply. "Argh, what am I saying?!"</p><p>Yosuke and Chie walk away to look at other TVs, Yosuke using his dorky salesman voice, Chie being generally offended by how expensive the TVs were.</p><p>Souji moves to stand directly in front of the first TV. It's almost like an old friend. For just moment, he sees Izanagi looking back at him where his reflection should be. Then its just Souji again, features set in resolve. He checks that his bag is still on his shoulder, then steps forward and raises his hand to the screen.</p><hr/><p>Yosuke really wants to know what he did to deserve the week he's been having. He's crashed his bike twice, been hit in the nuts twice, fallen in a trashcan, and now he's fallen into a TV. Not collided with a TV, fallen <em>inside</em> a TV. On top of all of that, he really needs to use the bathroom.</p><p>"Are you guys all right?" Seta checks over him and Chie.</p><p>"I think my ass is cracked..." Yosuke complains.</p><p>Chie glares at him for some reason. "Of course it is!"</p><p>Seta snorts quietly. He's currently frowning at his open hand like someone replaced it with the wrong hand while he wasn't looking.</p><p>Yosuke still has no idea what to think of Seta. He's been nice to Yosuke, and they have a lot in common, but the guy just nonchalantly stuck his head <em>inside a TV</em> like it was the most sensible and obvious course of action. He seems to know more than he lets on a lot of the time, and is just... quietly amused by most things? Yosuke wishes he knew what was so funny.</p><p>Yosuke and Chie realize they can't see an exit and quickly begin to panic.</p><p>"I can't take this anymore! I want to go home!" Chie looks like she's about to start crying.</p><p>Yosuke doesn't feel much better. "Okay... so how?!"</p><p>"Calm down." Seta's voice is firm and commanding, and Yosuke can't help but stop and take a few deep breaths. "There doesn't seem to be an exit here, so lets look around a little bit. Maybe we'll find something or someone that can help."</p><p>"Okay... okay, let's do that." It's not a great plan, but there's not much else they can do.</p><p>"Is there really a way outta here...?" Chie shifts nervously from foot to foot, but no longer looks like she's about to cry.</p><p>"If there is, we'll find it." There's no way Seta can know that for sure, but he says it with such certainty that Yosuke can't help but believe him. "Visibility is bad, so stay close together." He waits for Yosuke and Chie to nod in agreement, then glances between two walkways hesitantly. He takes a single step towards one of them, looks back at them for a moment, then leads them towards the other path.</p><p>It only takes a few steps for Yosuke to start hating the fog. It almost reminds him of something, but he can't place his finger on it. It makes him feel tired, sick, and alone, just waiting for the other shoe to finally drop so he doesn't have to keep looking around every corner and holding his breath...</p><p>Yosuke shakes his head and reaches up to touch his headphones. He doesn't put them on yet, but it helps pull him out of his thoughts.</p><p>He looks over at Seta, who is shuffling around in his bag like they aren't trapped in some weird fog dimension inside a TV. "Ah, there we go." Seta straightens up and triumphantly withdraws <em>the goddamn pinwheel</em> from his bag.</p><p>Yosuke trades a bewildered look with Chie. At least he's not the only one that's lost.</p><p>"...Why do you need that?" Yosuke asks hesitantly.</p><p>Seta actually seems to stop and consider this. "Hmm. You have a point." He thrusts the pinwheel into Yosuke's hands and reaches back into his bag of nonsense. "This is a better idea." He pulls out the bag of ice. Of course. "Maybe I should have gotten batteries actually..." Yosuke decides Seta is just insane.</p><p>Yosuke just stares at the bright orange and yellow pinwheel for a second. "...What the hell am I supposed to do with this?!"</p><p>"Throw it at stuff you don't like."</p><p>"What the hell does that mean?!" Yosuke waves the pinwheel around wildly. It spins merrily.</p><p>"You can give it back if you don't want it." Seta holds out his hand.</p><p>Yosuke is about to do just that and shove the pinwheel back into Seta's open hand, but the pinwheel catches his eye again. ...It's actually kind of cool looking. And it makes him feel safer for some stupid, unknowable reason. He looks away and grumbles, like it's too much of a bother to relinquish the pinwheel.</p><p>Seta blinks and looks genuinely perplexed for the first time since Yosuke met him. Then he shrugs and withdraws his hand.</p><p>It's at this point Chie runs out of patience. "If you two are done being stupid, can you try paying attention?! Where are we?!"</p><p>Yosuke looks around. "Uh... some kind of building? I can't really see anything through the damn fog..."</p><p>"I think there's something up ahead." Seta is peering through the fog ahead of them.</p><p>"Let's go check it out then." By this point, Yosuke is less than enthusiastic about any of this. He glances at his pinwheel again and continues forward.</p><hr/><p>Souji still couldn't access Izanagi. That almost didn't stop him from taking them to the twisted shopping district anyway.</p><p>He'd bought a few elemental items just in case they ran into trouble, but not as much as he'd need to stage a rescue for Saki. Still, he almost went anyway. In the end, he didn't go, because he'd already decided that without Izanagi he couldn't risk it. More than that though, he absolutely couldn't risk Yosuke and Chie getting hurt or killed. There was also a good chance that Yosuke's shadow could get triggered by the twisted shopping district, or even Saki and her shadow. Facing one true shadow without Izanagi was already inviting disaster, facing two at a time or in a row? That was a death wish.</p><p>The TV World could kill even experienced persona users very quickly if they took too many risks. Souji knew this from painful experience.</p><p>It didn't stop him from wanting to go anyway. But he can't.</p><p>Souji takes a deep breath when he realizes what he's thinking about, and quickly refocuses on the present moment. He cannot let himself spiral into another breakdown right now. His friends' safety depends on him right now, and even if nothing happened during this trip last time, he can't let his guard down. His hand automatically goes to his hip, and he almost sighs in annoyance when, once again, his sword scabbard is not there.</p><p>"Hey, is it me or is the fog lighter here?" Yosuke looks around the room they just walked into. He pulls out his phone. "No service. What a surprise..." He puts his phone away. He's still holding the pinwheel, for some reason.</p><p>"Can't you guys slow down a little? It's hard enough to see where you're going..." Souji and Yosuke turn to look at Chie as she follows them into the room. "Huh? What the...?" She looks around the room. "It's a dead end! There's no exit!" </p><p>"It keeps getting creepier and creepier the further we go..." Yosuke grimaces. "...Aargh! I can't hold it any longer! My bladder's gonna explode!" Poor Yosuke.</p><p>Souji feels a little bad for not doing anything to prevent this, but he'd been unable to engineer an alternate scenario that would get all three of them into the TV World, "accidentally" or otherwise. Yosuke managed it last time, he can deal with it this time.</p><p>After some flailing and an aborted attempt to just pee in the corner, they get back on topic, much to Souji's relief. The Investigation Team were unfortunate experts in awkward conversations and situations. That didn't make them any less awkward.</p><p>"Anyways... what's with this room?" Chie looks around again. "Check out all these posters... Their faces are all cut out... Someone must really hate this person."</p><p>"Dude..." Yosuke sounds nervous. "This chair and rope... That kind of arrangement is never good. It's tied in a noose... Is this a scarf?"</p><p>"C'mon... Let's go back to where we came from and look somewhere else for an exit..." Chie starts inching towards the door.</p><p>"Alright, let's go." Souji's given them enough time to notice all the important clues, now they need to go find Teddie.</p><p>They start walking out when Yosuke pauses and frowns at one of the posters. "Hey... I think I've seen that poster before..."</p><p>"Who CARES! Let's go! I am sick of this place!" Chie starts physically pushing Yosuke out the door. "And I'm not feeling so good..."</p><p>"Now that you mention it, me too..." Yosuke starts walking so Chie will stop pushing him. "Alright, let's go back. I'm seriously starting to feel sick." He mutters.</p><hr/><p>Souji notices Yosuke fidgeting and spinning the pinwheel on the way back. He decides this is adorable, and has to hide a smile.</p><hr/><p>Yosuke and Chie both give audible sighs of relief when they make it back to the plaza. Studio? Souji doesn't remember ever giving what amounted to their home base a name.</p><p>"Whew... We finally made it back here..." Chie frowns and squints into the fog. "Wait... What's that?"</p><p>It's Teddie. Souji doesn't say that out loud though.</p><p>Teddie walks forward cautiously, his steps making cute little squeak sounds. Souji feels another smile desperately tugging at his lips, despite his best efforts to remain stoic.</p><p>"What is this thing? A monkey? A bear...?" Clearly a bear, Chie.</p><p>"What in the world...?" Yosuke is clutching his pinwheel defensively. Souji suddenly hopes Yosuke doesn't remember his advice to throw it at stuff he doesn't like.</p><p>"Th-That's what I wanna know! Who are you guys...?" Teddie looks between them nervously. Souji's eyes actually start to sting and he suddenly realizes the last time he saw Ted was in the hospital when Nanako died, months and months ago. He quickly takes a few breaths and detaches himself before anyone can notice.</p><p>"Y-You wanna fight?!"</p><p>"D-Don't yell at me like that..." Teddie cowers away from Chie as Souji finally snaps back into focus.</p><p>He steps forward and makes a calming gesture towards Chie, who reluctantly backs down. "Hey." He says softly, like he's calming a small child. Which Teddie sort of is. "Do you have a name? Mine is Souji."</p><p>Teddie looks up timidly. "I'm Teddie." Souji's heart melts slightly. He's missed this bear.</p><p>"Okay Teddie. Me and my friends landed here on accident. Can you tell us about this world? It's different from ours."</p><p>"Oh, uhm..." Teddie tilts slightly. "This place doesn't have a name. It's where I live."</p><p>"You... live here?" Yosuke glances skeptically around at the metal girders and fog, and raises an eyebrow.</p><p>"If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side. Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache." Teddie looks slightly peeved.</p><p>"Huh? Throwing people in? What're you talking about?" Yosuke isn't following this at all.</p><p>"I dunno who's doing it! I just want them to think before they go doing things like that!" Teddie stomps the ground angrily.</p><p>"Hey, what's your problem?" Chie explodes. "What gives YOU the right to yell at us like that!? What ARE you?!" She continues. "Where are we?! What the heck's going on here?!"</p><p>"Chie!" Souji says sharply. Teddie runs to hide behind Souji. "Teddie has been trying to answer our questions as best as he can." He says more calmly. "Don't yell at him."</p><p>Teddie holds onto Souji a little tighter and looks up at him with big adorable eyes that are welling up with tears of gratitude. "Souji..."</p><p>Souji looks away and tries to recover his composure. "So... Teddie, you mentioned 'the other side'. Do you mean our world?"</p><p>"Yes!" The bear nods enthusiastically. "You should get back there!"</p><p>Souji notices Yosuke open his mouth angrily and makes a quick shushing gesture. Yosuke closes his mouth and folds his arms, brow still furrowed.</p><p>"Okay, Teddie. Can you tell us <em>how</em> to get back there?" Souji looks the bear in the eyes again.</p><p>"Yeah! I can let you out!" Teddie takes a step back and taps the floor with his foot. A stack of old fashioned TVs appears in a puff of smoke.</p><p>"What the hell?!"</p><p>"Wh-Where did those TVs come from?!"</p><p>Souji circles around to the front of the TVs, Chie and Yosuke move up behind him.</p><p>"Okay, now go, go, get outta here! I'm a busy bear!" Teddie pushes them all through the portal, disregarding Chie and Yosuke's complaints.</p><p>The world fades to white and they fall.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yosuke and his pinwheel :)<br/>Souji hands Yosuke the pinwheel because he remembers he and Izanagi are weak to wind, in case you were wondering.<br/>This is one of my favorite chapters I've written so far.<br/>We're almost to the end of what I had pre-written, I swear.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Long Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji may be a bit more stressed than he realized.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Thursday, April 14</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>After School</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>"Huh? Is this...?"</p><p>"Did we... make it back?"</p><p>Souji just lies on the cold tile of the Junes electronics department. He's feeling more than a little overwhelmed right now.</p><p>Yosuke and Chie stand up. Yosuke notices him still on the ground, and offers a hand. Souji looks at it a moment before taking it and letting Yosuke haul him to his feet.</p><p>"Attention, shoppers. Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor. Why not try the delicious, fresh produce...." Souji stops listening to the announcement.</p><p>"Crap, it's already that late?!" Yosuke looks around anxiously.</p><p>"Looks like we were in there for quite a while..."</p><p>"That's right..." Yosuke's eyes widen as he spots something. "Now I remember where I saw that poster before. Look over there! That's the poster we saw!" He and Chie start chattering about Misuzu Hiiragi, Mayumi Yamano's murder, and the creepy room with the noose.</p><p>"...Yaaargh, stop! No more! We gotta stop talking about this." Yosuke has hit his limit. "I'm gonna wipe what happened today from my brain. I don't think my poor heart can take anymore."</p><p>Chie grips her upper arm. "I'm feeling a chill too... Let's go home. I wanna lie down and rest."</p><p>Souji is still standing where Yosuke left him, not really processing anything until Yosuke pauses on his way past and waves his hand in front of his face. "Uh... Earth to Seta? You still in there?" Souji blinks and focuses on Yosuke with difficulty.</p><p>"...Uh, dude. Say something." Yosuke is starting to look worried.</p><p>"...Right. Sorry." Souji realizes he's basically operating in safe mode. He takes a second to process a response. "I'll ...get home."</p><p>"You gonna make it there okay?" Yosuke is definitely a little worried and confused.</p><p>"...Yeah." Souji can get home on auto-pilot. Just don't ask him to do anything more mentally taxing than walk in a straight line.</p><p>"Alright." Yosuke still looks dubious, but leaves Souji to make his own way home.</p><p>This kind of thing has happened to Souji and some of the other team members before. Basically, they spend too long in a high-intensity situation, and when they're finally safe again, they kind of shut down in order to process everything. Souji's probably going to spend the rest of the day staring at a wall.</p><hr/><p>Souji does make it home safely, but does not really remember doing so.</p><p>"Are you okay?"</p><p>Souji realizes he's lying sideways on the couch staring vacantly at a spot just to the right of the TV. He thinks he just collapsed there. Nanako and Dojima are looking at him. Huh. Dojima's home. Weird.</p><p>He realizes they're still waiting for him to answer Nanako's question.</p><p>"...m'fine." He mumbles. They don't look convinced and exchange a glance.</p><p>"...Where have you been since school ended?" Dojima asks.</p><p>"...with some friends."</p><p>"Hmm." Dojima seems to be examining him.</p><p>"Are you sick again?" Nanako asks.</p><p>"...prob'ly..." Souji feels his face scrunch up. He flops an arm over his nose and sneezes. His eyes start watering and he blinks furiously.</p><p>Dojima sighs. "...You're probably still adjusting to the new environment. Nanako, can you get him some cold medicine?" Nanako nods and runs to the kitchen. Dojima leans forward and puts a hand on Souji's forehead. "...You should go to bed as soon as you take it." Souji makes an affirmative noise.</p><hr/><p>A few minutes later, he manages to stumble up the stairs and collapse onto his futon. He clutches his pillow and stares at the ceiling for a while, taking shaky breaths, trying not to hyperventilate. </p><p>Souji has always had some trouble identifying and judging the severity of his emotions. He often has to deduce and reverse engineer what exactly he's feeling and why based off of context. Right now, he's shaking, breathing heavily, hugging his pillow like a lifeline, and staring unseeingly at the ceiling as his eyes tear up. Sounds like severe mental and emotional exhaustion. So what happened today that broke him this badly? </p><p>Well, lets see... Today was their first trip into the TV World. There's a lot that could have gone wrong, and Souji was focusing pretty hard the entire day to make sure things went how they were supposed to. Secondly, he had to make his final decision regarding Saki, who's going to die tonight because of that decision-</p><p>Souji chokes for a moment and squeezes his eyes shut.</p><p>
  <em>-Don't think about that, don't think about it, you're in a bad enough emotional state as it is, you can't afford to torment yourself over this right now-</em>
</p><p>After more than a few minutes of steady breathing and pillow hugging, Souji is ready to continue deconstructing his emotional state. The third thing that broke him today was probably meeting Teddie again. He had not been prepared for the sheer amount of feelings and memories that came rushing back the moment Teddie started talking to them. Trying to keep all that suppressed really did a number on him right at the end.</p><p>The sheer overwhelming joy was already enough to deal with, but he also had the sheer despair of November come rushing back, and guilt and relief and a whole bunch of other things that had made it hard to breathe.</p><p>Thinking about it, it's probably not a good thing that Souji is so good at hiding his emotions. Its an automatic reflex. He doesn't even notice them himself sometimes until his eyes start tearing up or his throat tightens. He'd gotten better about not hiding his emotions from himself over the last year, but he still had trouble expressing them. This year isn't going to help, he realizes. There are a lot of feelings that he won't be able to express if he doesn't want people to get suspicious.</p><p>He draws a long, shaky breath, then exhales just as slowly. He wasn't shaking anymore and his heart rate had slowed back down. Now he was just exhausted and numb.</p><p>He remembered the Midnight Channel was on that night.</p><p>He remembered what would be on it.</p><p>He decided to let it go.</p><p>He was asleep before he finished that thought, still holding his tear stained pillow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. I Was Trying To Be Cool</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Saki Konishi is found dead, Yosuke connects some dots, and they decide to enter the TV again.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Friday, April 15</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Morning</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>Souji spent a few minutes wondering if he could get away with spending the whole day in bed. Then he remembered what day it was.</p><p>Today's the day Yosuke gets his persona.</p><p>Souji sits up with a groan. Today's his first fight in months, and according to Igor and Margaret, he's going to be back at his starting level of power. He needs to be ready.</p><p>After a few more seconds of staring into space blearily, he decides he's going to need some coffee.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>'I should probably pick up a pack of batteries just in case.'</em>
</p><p>Souji stares at the coffee maker. He doesn't actually know for sure if they'll function as electric damage items, but he's pretty sure they will. Elemental damage items tend to be based off of a strong general association with their element. Pinwheels, ice cubes, and fire crackers worked for wind, ice, and fire respectively. He'll grab a pack of batteries on their way through Junes. Just in case.</p><p>He starts to drink his mug of coffee, and winces 'cause it's still hot. Dojima dashed out the door earlier, so it's just him and Nanako again. </p><p>Speaking of Nanako, she's looking at him. "...Did you need something?"</p><p>She glances away "Your jacket is inside out."</p><p>Souji blinks a second and looks down at his jacket. "Oh." She's right.</p><p>As he sets down his coffee and starts taking off his jacket, Nanako speaks up again. "Are you sure you should go to school today? You were really sick yesterday."</p><p>"Uh..." Souji pulls the sleeves right side out. "There's something important happening at school today, I don't want to miss it." He pauses a moment to put the jacket on. "Also, I'm feeling better this morning."</p><p>Nanako looks at him dubiously. Souji suddenly realizes that of the four nights he's been here, he's been sick or otherwise out of it for three of them, and hit his head in the middle of the night when he wasn't. Nanako's doubt is entirely warranted.</p><p>He picks up the coffee and downs another gulp. Maybe he should warn her ahead of time. "I'm probably going to be back a little late tonight too. I'll probably also be pretty tired." Nanako doesn't look at him. Souji is uncomfortably aware of how similarly he's acting to Dojima, what with his guzzling of coffee, inside-out jacket, and dubious self-care. "...Is there anything you want from Junes?" Souji offers. "I'm going to be stopping there on the way home." More or less.</p><p>"Oh! Um..." Nanako looks at him again before trailing off. "Can you pick up dinner? I think Dad's going to be too busy tonight..."</p><p>"Sure." Souji decides he's also going to pick up some chocolate for her. He really doesn't like being a second Dojima for her to worry about.</p><hr/><p>On his way to school, Souji realizes he's likely to forget dinner among everything else that's going to happen today. He pulls out a pen and writes it on his hand. Sirens sound in the distance. He tries not to think about it.</p><hr/><p>By the time he's standing in the school auditorium, the coffee has fully kicked in, for which Souji is grateful.</p><p>"Yukiko said she'd be here after lunch..." Chie trails off. "I wonder why they're holding a school assembly all of a sudden. ...Hey, what's wrong Yosuke?"</p><p>Yosuke looks up from where he was staring pensively at the floor. "Oh, it's nothing..." He looks back down.</p><p>Ms. Sofue calls for the school's attention and the assembly starts. The principle steps up to the podium. "I... regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for all of you." Souji feels himself start to go stiff. "One of our third-year students, Ms. Saki Konishi of Class 3... has passed away."</p><p>"Passed away...?!" Chie gasps.</p><p>Yosuke makes a soft strangled kind of noise. Souji shoves his hands in his pockets to stop them from shaking.</p><p>The principle continues with a few more details and asks them to cooperate with the investigation. Or he asks them not to say anything bad about the school, depending on how you interpret his words. The student body is whispering and chattering amongst themselves. Yosuke and Souji stay silent.</p><hr/><p>By some unspoken agreement, Souji and Chie wait for Yosuke in the hall. They both hear the gossip.</p><p>"Sheesh, it's easy to toss around theories if you're not personally involved..." Chie scowls and kicks at the floor.</p><p>"Hey..." Yosuke walks up to them. "Did you guys check out the TV last night?"</p><p>"Yosuke! Not you too!" Chie looks ready to slap someone. Like Yosuke.</p><p>"Just listen for a sec! Something kept bothering me, so... I watched it again, and..." Yosuke takes a shuddering breath. "I think the girl on the screen... was Saki-senpai." He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment before looking at them intensely. "You heard Senpai's body was found in a similar situation as that announcer's, right...? Well, you remember that guy you told us about? How he was all excited that his soulmate was the announcer? Maybe... Just maybe, but... Ms. Yamano might have been on that Midnight Channel before she died, too."</p><p>Souji had completely forgotten that it was Yosuke who made the original connection between the murders, the Midnight Channel, and the TV World. It was a good reminder that Yosuke was much sharper than he let on, despite his frequent immaturity.</p><p>"People who appear on that TV... die...?" Chie was glancing between them in dawning horror.</p><p>"I can't say for sure. But something tells me... I just can't dismiss it as coincidence." Chie remains silent as Yosuke continues. "Plus, remember what that bear thing said? How that place was dangerous, and we should leave before the fog clears...? It also said that someone's been throwing people in there." Yosuke's on a roll. "And that room with the posters has to have something to do with the announcer's death. I mean... there has to be some kind of connection, right?" Yosuke looks at them for confirmation.</p><p>"There's too many things that line up to dismiss it." Souji states.</p><p>Yosuke continues rambling about how he wants to go back to investigate the TV World. Souji knows from last time that his motives aren't entirely selfless, but honestly, Souji doubted they would have gotten far last time if they hadn't all enjoyed it on some level. Fighting shadows and finding clues was exciting. It gave them a sense of purpose.</p><p>"After what I've seen and what I've put together, there's no way I can ignore it now." Yosuke turns to face Souji. "Sorry... but you're the only person who can help me." His hands clench into fists. "I'm gonna go get ready. I'll be waiting for you at Junes." He runs off.</p><p>"I can kinda understand how he feels..." Chie watches Yosuke run off. "But we can't be sure we'll be able to get out safely again. What should we do...?"</p><p>"I'll go with him."</p><p>"Y-You serious...?" Chie looks at Souji in disbelief. "...Anyways, let's go to Junes. We can't leave Yosuke alone..."</p><hr/><p>Souji makes a pit stop to get some batteries and more ice and puts them next to the pinwheels in his bag. Chie taps her foot impatiently.</p><hr/><p><br/>When they arrive at the Junes electronics department, Yosuke is already standing there with a pile of rope and a familiar golf club. "You guys came!" He grins at them.</p><p>"We came to stop you, idiot!" Chie looks furious, but Souji knows her well enough to know that she's mostly worried. "C'mon... You really shouldn't do this. It's too dangerous."</p><p>"I know... But we were able to come back once, right? If we come in from the same location, maybe we'll meet that bear again."</p><p>"'Maybe' isn't good enough!" Chie growls.</p><p>"It did sound like Teddie could sense people in his world." Souji offers. "He might actually come to us."</p><p>"Yeah. Look, I can't just act like everyone else and pretend this has nothing to do with me." Yosuke looks at Chie.</p><p>"That's true, but..." Chie is still unconvinced.</p><p>"What about you?" Yosuke turns to Souji. "Could you just walk away?"</p><p>After everything Souji has seen and been through... "No. Something needs to be done."</p><p>"Yeah. I thought so. Chie, I need you to stay here. You'll be in charge of this."</p><p>"Huh? What's that? A rope...?"</p><p>"We'll go in with this tied to me, so I want you to hold onto this and wait here."</p><p>"Wh-What? Then, this is a lifeline? C'mon, wait a sec..." Chie is starting to panic a little. Souji suddenly remembers what happens and decides to step in.</p><p>"Hang on a second." Yosuke and Chie both look up in surprise. Seriously, its like they forget about him sometimes. "We don't really understand how this portal works. There's a pretty good chance the lifeline won't work." Yosuke looks like he wants to say something, but Souji raises a hand. "I'm not saying we shouldn't go in, or that we shouldn't give the lifeline a shot. Chie." He turns to her. "If the lifeline snaps or something, don't worry. I have a feeling we'll run into Teddie again sooner or later if we spend enough time in there. We'll find a way back out." Souji desperately hopes that will be enough to keep her from freaking out when the rope breaks.</p><p>"But I..." Chie holds the rope nervously.</p><p>Yosuke sighs. "Here, Souji. These are for you." He hands him the golf club and some medicine. "I thought it might be better than going in empty-handed."</p><p>Souji rests the golf club over his shoulder. "In that case, you should have brought your pinwheel."</p><p>"Gah, enough with the frickin' pinwheel!" Yosuke scowls at him. Souji gets the impression he's foiling Yosuke's attempts to be cool. "Let's just go already."</p><p>They walk forward and into the TV despite Chie's protests.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yosuke is trying so hard to be cool.<br/>Thus we finally reach the end of what I already had written. That was more than I realized.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Pinwheels Are Magical Apparently</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yosuke has an argument with a multi-colored bear and learns about magic. He is very excited about the second thing.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Friday, April 15</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>After School</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>Souji and Yosuke manage to stick the landing a little better. Well, Souji does. Yosuke falls onto his butt.</p><p>"...So what did you end up doing with that pinwheel anyway?" Souji is genuinely curious.</p><p>"Wha- Why do you care?!" Yosuke doesn't meet his eyes. Souji raises an eyebrow.</p><p>"Well, I did buy it, and you seemed kind of attached to it..."</p><p>"It-" Yosuke make a weird grumbling noise and fidgets. "...'s in m'pocket." He mumbles. His ears are red.</p><p>"I'm sorry, what?" Souji's not sure he heard that right.</p><p>Instead of answering, Yosuke begrudgingly pulls out <em>the goddamn pinwheel</em> from his pocket. Souji stares for a moment in disbelief, then starts cackling.</p><p>"Oh my god! You still have it!"</p><p>"It- I- Stop laughing dammit!" Yosuke's whole face is starting to turn red. Souji is doubled over, unable to breathe because he's laughing so hard.</p><p>"Y-You guys! Why'd you come back...?" They turn to see Teddie walk out of the fog. "...Is ...is he okay...?" Teddie looks very confused.</p><p>"He's fine." Yosuke grumbles, shoving the pinwheel back into his pocket.</p><p>"Hi, Ted-" Souji manages to gasp. He can't believe Yosuke still has the pinwheel! Not only that, he intentionally brought it back with him into the TV World!</p><p>"Hello, Souji!" Teddie smiles brightly for a moment, before remembering why he came over here. "Uh, wait! I asked why you came back here! I thought I told you, it's dangerous!" Teddie glares at them.</p><p>"We came here to investigate." Yosuke's cheeks are still burning. "We know this world has something to do with the murders!"</p><p>"Murders...?" Teddie's pupils shrink.</p><p>"Yeah, murders." Yosuke's patience is already running a bit short. "Every time the fog shows up, a dead body shows up with it!"</p><p>"Fog...?" Teddie is thinking. "I know that whenever it's foggy on your side, that's when the fog disappears here... That's when the shadows get violent..." Teddie shivers.</p><p>"Shadows...? What the hell does that mean?!" </p><p>"...Hang on a second..." Teddie squints at Yosuke suspiciously. "How do I know YOU'RE not the ones throwing people in here?"</p><p>"Wha- Of course we're not throwing people in here! If someone got thrown in here and couldn't get out, they could die!" His eyes widen. "Wait, back up. You said people were thrown in here. Do you mean Saki-senpai and that announcer?!"</p><p>"Who? I never actually met the people who fell in here except you guys! There were too many shadows!" Teddie stomps his foot. "Listen! You better stop it if you're the ones throwing people in here!"</p><p>"Uh, wait, guys-" Souji finally realizes the conversation is getting out of hand and steps forward, a bit too late.</p><p>"I just told you we're not! If anything, YOU'RE the most suspicious one here!" Yosuke scowls. "And what's with that costume?! Maybe it's time you showed your FACE!" He steps forward and tugs Teddie's head off.</p><p>There is nothing inside the costume but the endless void.</p><p>Yosuke shrieks and falls backwards, dropping Teddie's head. Teddie's body begins stumbling around blindly, feeling around for his head. It starts to wander off in the wrong direction.</p><p>Souji sighs. He walks over and picks up Teddie's head. "Yosuke, maybe don't decapitate our only means of leaving this place."</p><p>"What are you talking about?" Yosuke is still in shock.</p><p>"The lifeline." Souji walks up to Teddie's body and gently grabs one of his arms to keep him from wandering further away. He hands him his head.</p><p>Yosuke glances down at his waist. Sure enough, the rope was cut off. "Huh?!"</p><p>Teddie finally gets his head back on straight. "Thanks, Souji!" He smiles cheerfully despite his accusations just now.</p><p>"You're welcome Teddie." Souji steps back. What's the best way to handle this? He'd forgotten how circular these arguments got. "We're not the culprits. We came here looking for clues because we think this place is connected to the murders in our world. I think we're trying to catch the same person."</p><p>"Hmm..." Teddie looks uncertain. "But how can I know for sure?"</p><p>"You can't." Souji admits. "But if you can trust us just a little bit for now, we'd like to go to the places the other people were when they fell in."</p><p>"Oh! Good idea!" Yosuke perks up. "We've already been to the announcer lady's room, so Saki-senpai must also have a place!"</p><p>"...Okay." Teddie looks serious. "But you have to promise! Promise me you'll find the culprit! This can't keep going on! My home will be a complete mess!" Teddie's eyes start to water.</p><p>"I promise." Souji nods firmly.</p><p>Yosuke glances between Souji and Teddie and sighs. "Alright. I mean, that's pretty much what we were planning anyway... Oh! You know Souji's name, but I never introduced myself, right? I'm Yosuke Hanamura."</p><p>"Yosuke... Okay! Which place did you guys want to go to? There were two people who fell in..."</p><p>"Saki Konishi. The most recent person." Souji adds, knowing that Teddie won't recognize her name. "Take us to where she was."</p><p>"Okay! ...Oh! I almost forgot. You should put these on!" Teddie reaches into his suit and pulls out two familiar pairs of glasses and hands them to Souji and Yosuke.</p><p>Souji accepts his and grins as he puts them on and the fog clears. This is more like it.</p><p>"Woah! Its like the fog doesn't exist..." Yosuke trails off, looking around.</p><p>"Those'll help you walk through the fog! But uh... I can only show you where the place is. You guys will have to defend yourselves."</p><p>"What?! Defend ourselves?" Yosuke glares at Teddie. "Th-There better not be any monsters! You understand?!" He starts fidgeting. "We brought weapons, but I mean... They're more for show!"</p><p>"Speak for yourself." Souji smirks with the golf club over his shoulder. "Lead the way Ted."</p><p>"Aye-aye!" Teddie starts waddling away. Souji follows at a leisurely pace.</p><p>"Oh come on, it's a <em>golf club</em>!" Yosuke gives Souji a look as he walks past.</p><p>"And some batteries, a bag of ice, and some pinwheels. Can't forget the pinwheels." Souji pauses. "...I did forget the fire crackers though."</p><p>Yosuke gives Souji's back a withering look, before he groans and reluctantly follows.</p><hr/><p>Yosuke is pretty sure Souji is nuts. He's treating this whole thing like it's just an average Tuesday. He's walking and talking up ahead with Teddie, the animated bear costume, and handing it a bag of ice like its nothing. Seriously, is he just like that, or has he done this before?</p><p>"Hey, can you hold this for a second?" Souji hands Yosuke the golf club.</p><p>"Sure." Seriously, what's this guy's deal? Yosuke carefully steps over a stray cable running across the metal walkway.</p><p>Souji says something to Teddie, who is carefully examining the bag of ice like he's never seen anything like it. ...Maybe he <em>hasn't</em> seen anything like it, actually. Do they have ice here? Teddie hands Souji an ice cube.</p><p>"Alright, lets see..." Souji examines the ice cube in his hand for a moment and closes his eyes, a look of intense concentration on his face. He stops walking, and Teddie and Yosuke stop as well.</p><p>Souji opens his eyes and cocks his arm back. "Hup!" He hurls the ice cube down a side path and watches it intently. Teddie also leans forward.</p><p>Yosuke also watches the ice cube fly in puzzlement. "What're you guys-"</p><p>
  <em>*CRASH*</em>
</p><p>A sound like shattering glass rings through the air as the ice cube hits the walkway. Instantly, it's covered in ice in about a meter radius.</p><p>"The heck?!" Yosuke's jaw drops. "How- What?!" Souji grins at him and holds up another ice cube. Yosuke flinches back and chuckles nervously. "Ahaha, uh, wait-"</p><p>"I'm not gonna throw it at <em>you</em>." Souji rolls his eyes. He opens his mouth to say more, but Teddie interjects.</p><p>"Gosh! That was amazing! I didn't know there were things in your world that can do that!" Teddie gushes all over Souji, his eyes literally sparkling.</p><p>"Well, they <em>can't</em> normally do that where we're from." Souji rubs his neck sheepishly. "The rules are a bit different here."</p><p>"Okay, hang on. What did you just do?" Yosuke demands, holding his hands out in a "time out" gesture.</p><p>"Like I said, the rules are a bit different here. Magic exists." He pauses. "More or less." They start walking again.</p><p>"You just did magic?!" Yosuke's jaw drops. It's official. Souji is crazy. But a potentially useful and awesome kind of crazy. "So, you're going to throw ice cubes at any monsters we run into?!"</p><p>"Or hit them with a golf club. Good old fashioned physical violence still works." There's a concerning gleam in Souji's eyes, but Yosuke doesn't care right now.</p><p>"Sweet!" Yosuke grins. "Can I do that?!"</p><p>Souji cocks his head. "I... don't know, actually. Hang on." He dives back into his bag of amazing and pulls out-</p><p>"Oh come on!" Yosuke groans as Souji hands him <em>another </em>goddamn pinwheel. "You better not be making another pinwheel joke." He glares at it. This one is purple and red.</p><p>"A little bit." Souji admits as he chuckles a bit. "But I have a feeling it'll be the easiest one for you to use."</p><p>Yosuke transfers his glare to Souji. "...Okay, fine. Now how do I do magic?"</p><p>"I'm not 100% sure you'll be able to do it yet," Souji cautions. "But, lets see... how do I explain it..." He trails off. "Magic has distinct elements here. Ice is one. Wind is another." He nods at the pinwheel in Yosuke's hands. "Uh..." Souji chuckles again, this time a bit nervously as he notices Teddie and Yosuke both focusing on him with their full attention. "I'm not an expert in this, I've only ever had to <em>do</em> it before, not try to explain it... So, as far I understand it, the ice cubes and pinwheels work because they strongly represent a specific element. They can kind of... channel, I guess...? Small amounts of their element." He pulls out yet another pinwheel, this time yellow and green. "If you focus, you can kind of find and activate that element..." Souji focuses a moment, and the pinwheel starts to glow green slightly and spin. He winds up and throws this one too, and a small blast of wind shoots off into the distance.</p><p>Souji finally turns back to Yosuke. "I guess the first thing to do is to try and sense the wind magic in that thing. You've never used magic before, so it might be difficult... I've never tried this with someone who's never used magic."</p><p>Yosuke frowns down at the pinwheel. "Okay... wind magic..."</p><p>"Wind magic is called Garu by the way!" Teddie finally pipes up.</p><p>"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that."</p><p><em>'Garu...'</em> Yosuke spends the rest of the walk trying to figure it out.</p><hr/><p>Souji keeps an eye on Yosuke and Teddie as they try to work out how to use their elemental items. He hadn't been intending to teach them, but they had both looked so excited, he couldn't help but try. It was a strange feeling, being the one who showed the others the ropes. Teddie's nickname of "sensei" might be a little more apt this time around.</p><p>Although... He needs to come up with a basic cover story for how he knows this stuff. He got lucky that Yosuke was too distracted by the shiny new ~<em>magic</em>~ to ask the obvious question, but it's going to come up eventually. That's a problem for Future Souji though.</p><p>Speaking of Future Souji, he isn't sure how he's going to react to the twisted shopping district or it's version of Konishi Liquors. So far, he feels fine, but Souji's noticed that guilt and grief have a tendency to hit him like a truck out of nowhere. Thankfully Teddie didn't trigger it today- <em>yet</em>- but that doesn't mean he's in the clear for sneaky emotions. He hopes he'll be able to handle it if or when it hits again.</p><p>Maybe if he has something else to focus on. Yosuke and Teddie <em>are</em> counting on him right now. Maybe if he focuses on that he can power through whatever hits him.</p><p>The Twisted Shopping District finally comes into view up ahead. "Okay guys. I think you should call it quits for now. We're almost there."</p><p>There's a disappointed "Aww!" from Teddie and some more grumbling from Yosuke. "Do keep your items though, we might run into danger and sometimes extreme stress makes magic easier..." Souji trails off, realizing that he's not being very reassuring.</p><p>"Alright." Yosuke shoves the second pinwheel in his pocket and looks up. "...Hang on. Is this... the shopping district?!" He looks around wildly. "What's going on here?!"</p><p>Souji looks at Teddie and raises an eyebrow. Teddie tries to explain. "Some weird places have appeared here recently. Things are getting so tangled, I dunno what to do..." He gestures helplessly.</p><p>Yosuke stops staring at his surroundings and turns to Teddie. "Uh... by the way, why are you standing so far from us? ...You better not be planning to high-tail it if something does come up."</p><p>"Of course not!" Teddie denies a little too quickly. "I mean. Uh. I'd get in your way..." He looks entirely too innocent.</p><p>"Hrrrm..." Yosuke looks dubious, but starts looking around the area again. "...Man, they really went all out on this... But of all the places in town, why's they replicate this one?"</p><p>"How should I know? This is reality for the one who's here."</p><p>Souji considers that for a moment. Does that line up with future locations...? Maybe not as literally, but he thinks he can see it. Yukiko trapped in a castle like she's trapped at the inn, Rise constantly being what others want her to be at the strip club, Naoto hiding behind a fortress of defenses where no one can get to her, Kubo being the hero of his games, Kanji... Kanji wandering through a steamy bathhouse looking for love...? Souji decides to drop this line of thought.</p><p>Yosuke sighs. "As usual, nothing you say makes any sense... But if this is our shopping district, we're not far from Saki Senpai's..." Yosuke dashes off, leaving Souji cursing mentally.</p><p>"Yosuke! Don't run off!" Souji calls and dashes after him.</p><hr/><p>Dang, Yosuke is <em>fast</em>. Souji doesn't catch up until he stops in front of Konishi Liquors. "Yosuke, you can't run off on your own in a place like this." Souji pants. He's out of shape.</p><p>Yosuke doesn't seem to register his words. "I knew it...! This is the liquor store that Senpai's parents run. Does this mean... Senpai disappeared here?" He looks at the glowing black and red portal anxiously. "What could've happened...?" He begins to walk forward.</p><p>"W-Wait a second!" Teddie clutches the bag of ice he's still holding. "Th-They're here!"</p><p>Yosuke whirls around to face Teddie. "What?"</p><p>Souji readies his golf club and fingers one of the batteries in his pocket, just in case he needs them.</p><p>"Shadows. I had a feeling they were going to attack...!" Teddie shudders.</p><p>"Yosuke, back over here!" Souji gestures next to Teddie and steps forward. </p><p>Yosuke takes a few steps toward them before the shadows start sliding out of the portal. He looks over his shoulder frantically and stumbles the last couple of steps before falling over next to Teddie in shock. "Augh!"</p><p>Souji steps in front of them as the shadows rush forward and reform into a pair of Slipping Hableries. They leer at him, as much as gross floating disembodied mouths can leer. Which is pretty well, for the record.</p><p>A myriad of memories and emotions flash through Souji's mind, overwhelming him. All the battles he's been in, the resolve and razor focus he has when leading his friends. His heart pounds, and he hears Izanagi echo in his mind.</p><p>
  <em>I am thou. Thou art I. Thou must take hold of thy last chance, and complete thy mission!</em>
</p><p>He's right. Souji crushes the card that appears in his hand.</p><p>"PERSONA!"</p><p>Glass shatters, and for the first time in months, Izanagi roars into being behind him.</p><p>Souji grins.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The reason Souji isn't testing the batteries is because Ted and Yosuke are both weak to Zio. Also, Yosuke is going to realize how suspicious it is that Souji already knows this stuff, but right now he's too hyped about the idea of doing magic.<br/>...I'm having too much fun with the pinwheels. It just keeps happening.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. You're Locked Up In Your Mind</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yosuke meets his shadow, and Souji has an unpleasant time, courtesy of his own mind.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Friday, April 15</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>After School</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>Yosuke and Teddie watch in astonishment as Souji and ...Izanagi...? dispatch the floating mouth monsters with ruthless efficiency and a golf club. Lightning rains down.</p><p>"What...? What is <em>that?!"</em> Yosuke turns to Teddie. "Ted! What's he doing?!"</p><p>"I don't know!" Teddie looks at Souji in awe. "I've never seen anything like it!"</p><p>Souji whacks the last tongue monster in the mask with his golf club, and it dissolves into goo. He and the thing he summoned look at each other for a moment, before nodding to each other. The floating being fades away, and Souji turns to them. Yosuke runs forward with Teddie.</p><p>"Dude! That was amazing! What <em>was</em> that?!" Yosuke starts rambling. He can't help it. "I wanna know how to do <em>that</em> now! What did you call it? Persona? Izanagi?"</p><p>"Calm down, Yosuke. You're troubling Sensei!" Teddie looks at him sternly, before turning to Souji. "Gosh almighty! You're amazing, Sensei! I am one impressed bear!" Yosuke is pretty sure the bear's eyes have literal stars in them. "I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power! No wonder the Shadows were scared of you!"</p><p>"I uh..." Souji looks vaguely uncomfortable with all the attention. "I wasn't trying to hide it, it's just been months since I last summoned Izanagi..." He looks down at his hands. "I wasn't able to until just now..." He trails off, lost in thought.</p><p>"Wait, so you've done this before?!" Yosuke suddenly realizes there's no other explanation. Souji already knows about magic and stuff, he <em>must</em> have been here before! "Why didn't you say so?!"</p><p>Souji flinches and avoids their eyes. "I... <em>have</em> done this before, more or less. But it- ...it didn't end very well. I don't really want to talk about it." He shifts uncomfortably.</p><p>Yosuke stays silent for a moment. He had been starting to get angry at Souji for playing dumb this whole time, but Yosuke can see the genuine distress hiding in Souji's expression. It's not like Souji had been withholding important information either, he showed them his magic things earlier...</p><p>
  <em>'It's been months since I last summoned Izanagi. I wasn't able to until just now.'</em>
</p><p>
  <em>'...it didn't end very well.'</em>
</p><p>Yosuke glances at the fake Konoshi Liquors and feels a shiver. He has a sudden sinking feeling that Souji is telling the truth. Irritation at being deceived and worry about the implications of what Souji just admitted struggle back and forth in Yosuke's mind. In the end he just sighs. "Alright, we'll deal with this later. Lets get back to the investigation for now." He tries to ignore the look of relief on Souji's face and walks towards the store.</p><p>He only takes a couple of steps before the murmuring starts. Voices start to echo around the district, not seeming to come from anywhere in particular.</p><p>The voices blame Junes for the hardship the shopping district is going through, gossip about Saki and how she's working for the enemy, how awful her parents must feel about it-</p><p>Yosuke can't take anymore. These voices are are to familiar to him. He whirls around to face Teddie. "Hey... Hey, Ted! You said that this place is reality for those that are here, right?! So... does that mean this was senpai's reality when she wandered in here...?"</p><p>"I... only know about what's over here" Teddie replies uncertainly.</p><p>"Fine..." Yosuke turns back to glare at the portal sitting in the entrance of Konoshi Liquors. "Whatever's going on here... We'll find out ourselves!" He charges through the portal.</p><hr/><p>Souji runs after Yosuke in silence this time. He hates standing by while Yosuke gets screwed with by this world. But interfering now would probably just drag things out, or even make things worse. Yosuke needs to face his shadow on his own, Souji can't really get in the way of that. All he can do is be ready to defend him.</p><p>"Dammit, not again..." Yosuke growls. Souji's hand tightens on his golf club.</p><p>The voices echo out again. This time it's Saki's father. <em>"Saki, how many times do I have to tell you?!"</em></p><p>"I-Is this... Senpai's dad...?" </p><p><em>"You know what the neighbors say about you, right?! Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations!"</em> The voice continues to berate a dead girl.<em> "Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE, of all places!"</em></p><p>Saki is dead. But the voices that tormented her continue to ring out. If only Souji had done something. Saki may have had her issues, but she didn't deserve any of this-</p><p>Souji grits his teeth and refocuses. Saki may be gone, but Yosuke still needs his help. He needs to be ready, he can't fall apart right now.</p><p>"I... I can't believe this..." Yosuke looks horrified. "She seemed like she had fun at work... She never said anything like this to me..." He shouts into the cavernous liquor store. "You're telling me THIS is how Senpai really saw things?!"</p><p>Yosuke spots something on one of the tables and runs over. Souji follows cautiously, his gut twisting up into knots. Letting his best friend run into pain and danger that he could've prevented hurts, even knowing it'll be for the best in the end.</p><p>"These photos... Hey... Is this...?" Yosuke picks up a photo from the table. "It's the photo we took the other day with the other part-timers at Junes... Wh-Why's it cut up like this...?" his voice shakes.</p><p><em>"I... never had the chance to say it..."</em> Saki's voice starts to echo through the store. Souji grimaces even harder than he had been already.</p><p>"Is that... Senpai's voice?!" Yosuke looks up sharply.</p><p><em>"I always wanted to tell Hana-chan..."</em> Souji cringes in anticipation.</p><p>"Huh...? Me...?"</p><p><em>"...that he was a real pain in the ass."</em> Yosuke makes a small choking noise, but Saki's voice continues. <em>"I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all... But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic... what a dip."</em></p><p>Knowing what he does now about True Shadows, Souji knows that the real Saki Konishi probably didn't quite feel the way it sounds here. After all, shadows are the feeling people don't want to admit to themselves. Chie and Yukiko's shadows both had terrible things to say about their relationship with each other, but it was clear to anyone who knew the two that those were only a small, albeit troubling and unhealthy, part of their relationship. Of course, none of this helped Yosuke right now, and Souji would never get to know Saki well enough to see how she had actually felt about Yosuke.</p><p>"P-Pain in the ass...?" Yosuke's voice cracks with hurt.</p><p>
  <em>"Who cares about Junes, anyway? Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back... I wish everything would just disappear..."</em>
</p><p>A shiver runs up Souji's spine at Saki's last sentence. Everything disappear...? It reminds him of the fog that covered Inaba for all those months...</p><p>"I-It's a lie..." Yosuke is shaking his head and backing up. "This can't be... Senpai's not like that...!"</p><p><strong>"It's <em>*sniff*</em> so sad... I feel so sorry for myself... Boo hoo..."</strong> Souji whirls around to face what he knows is coming. Yosuke reels back in shock.</p><p>Yosuke's shadow gives them an unsettling grin. <strong>"Actually, <em>I'm</em> the one who thinks everything's a pain in the ass."</strong> It chuckles darkly.</p><p>Teddie runs over to join them from wherever he had gone wandering off to. "H-Huh? Two Yosukes...?"</p><p>Yosuke dashes forward to confront his shadow. "Who are you?! I-I wouldn't think that...!" Souji follows him but keeps some distance.</p><p><strong>"Hahaha... Yeah right."</strong> The shadow sneers. <strong>"How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks!"</strong></p><p>Yosuke looks taken aback. "What're you saying...? That's not true, I-"</p><p>His shadow cuts him off.<strong> "You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone! The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people just to block out the pain of isolation."</strong></p><p>The shadow's expression suddenly shifts into something far colder. Almost accusatory. <strong>"Maybe if you weren't so wrapped up in putting on a show for the others, you could've actually been of some use."</strong> Souji blinks at the abrupt change in its tone, but the shadow goes right back to sneering condescension.</p><p><strong>"And what's this about checking this world out for Saki-senpai's sake?"</strong> The shadow scoffs. <strong>"Hah, I know the real reason you came snooping..."</strong></p><p>Yosuke eyes widen. "S-Stop it!"</p><p><strong>"Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe... I DO know everything you're thinking! Why's that...?"</strong> Yosuke's shadow makes a grand gesture. <strong>"Because I AM you! You just came here because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do out in this shithole? A world inside the TV- now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you?!"</strong></p><p>"That's not true... Stop... Stop it..." Yosuke's fists are clenched.</p><p>
  <strong>"You latched onto the weirdo transfer student for the same reason, right? And hey, it payed off, didn't it! Magic and monsters, that's new and interesting! Why else would you hang around someone who spends half his time laughing at you?"</strong>
</p><p>Souji's throat tightens. Was he really laughing that much-? No. Shadows distort and exaggerate their owner's true feelings, don't take it at face value. Think about it later.</p><p>
  <strong>"You're just trying to act like a big shot... If all went well, hey, maybe you can even be a hero! And that Senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!"</strong>
</p><p>Yosuke's expression goes from desperation to outrage in a flash. "That's not true! What are you?! Who are you?!"</p><p>Souji tenses and readies himself.</p><p>The shadow chuckles. <strong>"I already told ya. I'm you. Your Shadow. There's nothing I don't know about you!"</strong></p><p>Here it comes.</p><p>"Screw that! I don't know you! You can't be me you son of a bitch!!" Yosuke screams.</p><hr/><p>Yosuke stands in front of his stupid clone, fists clenched and shuddering. The room is silent for a moment, and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.</p><p>Then the asshole with his face starts to laugh.<strong> "That's right! Say it again!"</strong> It demands.</p><p>Yosuke obliges, even as his instincts scream danger. He doesn't care right now. "You're not me. You're nothing like me!" His voice is hoarse.</p><p><strong>"...That's right. I'm <em>me</em> now. I'm not you anymore, see?"</strong> It spreads its arms, and practically explodes into shadows and light that nearly blinds Yosuke.</p><p>Yosuke starts backpedaling in horror. His is gut screaming at him that he just did something very bad, and he needs to run, but he collapses as the light dies down. Yosuke looks up in horror at the frog-like monster with a malicious smile and two huge yellow gloves. He hears Souji yell, and sees something small fly through the air and collide with monster. He has just enough time to see it convulse under a pulse of electricity, and hear his own, distorted, voice cry out in pain. Then he blacks out.</p><hr/><p>"Teddie, get Yosuke clear!" Souji dashes forward to put himself between Yosuke and his shadow, and throws a battery at it. It arcs through the air and unleashes a brief torrent of electricity when it connects with the front of it's frog-like body. Souji cringes at the sound of Yosuke's voice crying out in pain.</p><p>"O-Okay!" He hears Teddie distantly as he swings his golf club forward. This is going to be a rough fight. He may be able to hit it's weakness, but it can also hit HIS weakness, and hit it hard.</p><p><strong>"Argh! Pain in the ASS!"</strong> It sweeps a leg towards Souji, who barely leaps clear. <strong>"Get out of my way!"</strong></p><p>Souji braces himself as gale force winds rip towards him. He can't help but flash back to the innumerable all-out-attacks they did and Yosuke's 'Get out of our way!' battle cry. Souji grits his teeth against the attack and the memories and retaliates.</p><p>"Izanagi!"</p><p>Izanagi appears in a rush of blue light, and fires off a Zio. The shadow collapses again and Souji takes the opportunity to kite around it, away from Yosuke and Teddie, while Izanagi fires another Zio.</p><p>The shadow hauls itself back up in a whirl of limbs and points at Souji. <strong>"Don't get in my way!"</strong> It lunges forward and slaps Souji a good way across the room. He crashes into the floor just short of a stack of sake barrels. Izanagi dissolves into static.</p><p>Souji struggles to his <em>feet just in time to see the Garu magic rushing towards him. His eyes widen and he swings his sword up in a desperate attempt to soften the blow of Garudyne. Where did that come from?! Namatame's shadow is floating up there-</em></p><p>
  <strong>"How long can you survive this?!"</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>His partner runs towards him, Susano-o already glowing with the green light of Diarama- wait, something's wrong, that's Garu-! Souji scrambles for a persona that resists Garu- Garuda reflects but he doesn't want to hurt him- Yosuke arrives with another blast of wind. He has an expression on his face Souji doesn't recognize. That's not his partner.</em>
</p><p>"Sensei! Get up!" Souji's eyes widen and he dives behind a pile of metal barrels before yet another wind spell hits where he had been standing.</p><p><strong>"Heh, that's it...? Bor-ing!"</strong> Yosuke's shadow taunts him as Souji takes great shuddering breaths and desperately tries to ground himself. What was that?! It felt like he was suddenly back in the fight against Namatame-!</p><p>Souji hisses and pulls himself to his feet with his golf club. He takes another few seconds before darting back out.</p><p>"IZANAGI!" Souji roars, and Zio lashes out at the shadow. Izanagi takes a swipe at one of the frog's feet, stunning it and knocking it over, low enough for Souji to run forward and leap onto the frog-like body, behind the jockey.</p><p>Souji latches onto it's scarf with one hand, and starts bashing it with his golf club with the other. The jockey struggles to get a good angle to grab him despite it's huge hands, but finally manages it and swings Souji around to it's front. Souji bites its thumb. It has the texture of rubber.</p><p><strong>"Wha- OW! Did you just <em>bite</em> me?! You little pest- Argh!"</strong> Izanagi hits it with Zio, and it drops Souji on the floor.</p><p>He barely starts to roll to his feet when a heavy frog foot pins him down. The frog-jockey slaps Izanagi to the side and shakes the hand Souji bit. <strong>"Hrgh... Even <em>I</em> don't <em>bite</em> people!"</strong></p><p>"You don't even have a real mouth." Souji grits out. His hands are pinned with the rest of him. Izanagi is blasted away by another wind spell, and Souji winces at the phantom pain.</p><p><strong>"...Think you're clever, don't you."</strong> The shadow looms over him. <strong>"I'm sick of you and everyone else looking down on me."</strong> It leans it's full weight onto Souji. <strong>"Well, <em>I'm</em> the one looking down on <em>you</em> this time, asshole! What do you think of <em>that?!</em>"</strong></p><p>Souji feels his ribs creak worryingly and struggles to breathe. Izanagi swings his naginata at the leg pinning Souji down, but the shadow barely budges and blasts Izanagi away again. <strong>"Pathetic."</strong> Souji squeezes his eyes shut.</p><p>"Sensei, NOOOO!" an ice cube flies up and hits the jockey on the side of the head.</p><p>It bounces off.</p><p><strong>"...What?"</strong> The shadow picks up the ice cube and looks at it. <strong>"What was <em>that </em>supposed to do? It's an <em>ice cube</em>-"</strong></p><p>The ice cube explodes. </p><p><strong>"Augh! What the hell?!"</strong> The jockey's hand is frozen in a block of ice. It reels backwards and flails it's frozen hand wildly. <strong>"That's the hand you bit earlier...!"</strong></p><p>Souji gasps for air as the weight on him lifts. He starts to drag himself away from the shadow. <strong>"Wha- HEY! Get back here!"</strong> The shadow reaches for him with it's free hand, but Souji whirls around and hurls a battery in the same movement. Izanagi casts Zio at practically the same time. <strong>"A-a-ar-r-gh!!"</strong> It's yell of pain and surprise gets distorted as electricity courses over it's body.</p><p>Izanagi lunges forward and runs his naginata through the jockey part of the shadow, and tears it apart.</p><p><strong>"DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!"</strong> The shadow finally starts to lose its form and dissolves.</p><hr/><p>Souji stands there dazed for a minute, wide eyed and gasping for breath. What happened earlier? It hadn't felt like illusion magic... He retrieves his golf club from where it had fallen and leans on it heavily. Something drips onto his hand. He stares at it in puzzlement before his hand flies to his face. ...He's crying?</p><p>"Sensei! Are you okay?!" Teddie runs up and Souji hurriedly tries to wipe the tears away. "Earlier, y-you were just letting it hit you!"</p><p>"I..." What's Souji supposed to tell him? I just had a PTSD flashback of something that never happened? I thought the ninja frog jockey was actually my best friend and I didn't want to hurt him? "...It's nothing. Don't worry."</p><p>Teddie looks worried.</p><p>"Thanks for calling out to me, though. It helped. So did the ice cube." Souji pats Teddie on the head with a shaky hand and struggles to keep his face straight. He doesn't think it's working.</p><p>"...You're welcome, sensei."</p><p>He feels something touch his shoulder, and he quickly jerks his head up. Izanagi is still summoned. His yellow eyes lock onto his and he gently pats his back. Souji takes another deep shuddering breath and leans his head into Izanagi's cloak, eyes closed. They stay like that for a minute before Souji withdraws his head and Izanagi fades slowly into static.</p><p>Souji staggers over to check on Yosuke, who is just getting up. "I... I..." Yosuke struggles for words.</p><p>"Yosuke, are you okay?!" Teddie runs ahead.</p><p>"Y-Yeah... What... happened...?" Yosuke is still a bit out of it.</p><p>Teddie directs his attention to his shadow, who is standing behind him.</p><p>Yosuke flinches back when he sees it. "You.. You're... not me..."</p><p>"That thing came from you, Yosuke..." Teddie says quietly. "You have to admit it... or it'll go berserk again." Souji is almost startled by the lack of bear pun in 'berserk'.</p><p>"You're still you. That's only a small part of you." Souji hopes he's making sense. He's still leaning on the golf club.</p><p>"Myself..." Yosuke looks down at one of his arms. "Dammit... It hurts to face yourself..." He walks up to his shadow. "I knew it wasn't lying... But I was so ashamed I didn't want to admit it... You're me... and I'm you. When you get down to it, all of this is me."</p><p>Yosuke's shadow gives a small smile and nods. It dissolves and reforms into Jiraiya, the disco ninja frog everyone loves. Jiraiya disappears, and a blue card floats down.</p><p>"My persona... Jiraiya..." Yosuke turns and walks back toward them. He stumbles and catches himself on the still intact table. "...When we heard Senpai's voice... I wonder if that was something Senpai had been keeping deep down inside..." Yosuke chuckles halfheartedly. "'He was a real pain in the ass,' huh? What a way to find out. Geez, this is so embarrassing." He looks at Souji. "If you weren't here... I don't want to think about what would've happened. Thanks." </p><p>Souji nods back to Yosuke and waits a second before grabbing his bag and shuffling around for his emergency snacks. He finds a bag of cookies and starts munching vacantly while Yosuke and Teddie discuss the mechanics of the TV World and what might've happened to Saki.</p><p>"Hey, Souji." Souji looks up from his can of soda. "We're leaving now." Yosuke tells him. "...What are you doing?"</p><p>"Snacks work as healing items here." Souji informs him.</p><p>"Seriously? What is this, a video game?" Yosuke shakes his head. "Anyway, lets go."</p><p>Souji stumbles after him and Teddie.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Someone fetch Nanako, Souji needs another hug.<br/>...I might also need a hug, this was a heavy chapter.</p><p>Updated to flesh out the fight a bit more.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Emotional Support Cousin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji and Yosuke finally make it back to the real world, where they encounter a slightly livid Chie. Souji runs into Yukiko on the way home, and bonds with Nanako some more.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Friday, April 15</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>After School</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>"Aw, man! You mean Ted figured it out first?!" Yosuke folds his arms and definitely doesn't pout. He, Souji, and Teddie are walking back to the TV World entrance after fighting Yosuke's Shadow.</p><p>"Yep. Pretty much saved my life, too." Souji ruffles the bear's fur fondly.</p><p>Teddie clutches his bag of ice in wonder. "It was amazing Yosuke! Your shadow's hand got all covered in ice!" He looks down at the bag. "...I was so scared when sensei got trapped under it's foot..."</p><p>Yosuke raises an eyebrow and looks at Souji. "I think I remember you saying something about magic being easier under extreme stress... Is that what happened?"</p><p>"I think so." Souji looks off into space, the cookie he was about to eat paused halfway to his mouth. "I've never seen an example using item-based magic though, so I don't know for sure." He looks back at Teddie. "Do you remember how you did it? Do you think you could do it again?"</p><p>"Hmm..." Teddie frowns and his brow furrows. "I <em>think</em> so..." He pulls out an ice cube and looks at it intently. "...I think if I..."</p><p>"Uh-" Souji quickly interjects, gesturing with his cookie. "Try not to set it off while you're still holding it, please."</p><p>"Wait, that can happen?!" Yosuke backs away from Teddie quickly. Ted's pupils shrink and he holds the bag of ice out gingerly.</p><p>"I've only seen it happen once, but, uh..." Souji glances at Yosuke and trails off. "I'm sure you'll be okay. Just be careful, Ted." He finally puts the cookie in his mouth.</p><p>Teddie looks up at him, then goes back to frowning at his ice cube.</p><hr/><p>"So if I'd been here until the fog cleared, I woulda been in much deeper trouble?"</p><p>Souji realizes Yosuke and Teddie are talking about the case again and decides he needs to be paying attention instead of staring off into space.</p><p>"Yeah. I'm pretty sure." Ted nods. "You were lucky. Sensei and me were here with you..."</p><p>"Dammit...!" Yosuke glares at the floor. "Senpai and that announcer... They were stuck here all alone... No one could save them..."</p><p>Teddie looks sad. "Yosuke..." He thinks for a moment. "They disappeared when the fog lifted. But they were safe before that. No shadows attacked them. They attacked us though..." Teddie's brow furrows. "Maybe they're keeping a close eye on us. They might see people who investigate this place as enemies... It'll be dangerous, but we might be able to fight them! We might save people!"</p><p>"Are you saying, if anyone else gets thrown in here, we can save them before they disappear?! Like how you guys just saved me?!" Yosuke looks between Souji and Teddie hopefully.</p><p>"That seems to be the case." Souji offers. He looks sadly at his empty cookie bag.</p><p>"Okay... We still need to catch the one who's throwing people in here and make them stop." Yosuke nods firmly. "Yeah... I'm finally starting to understand what's going on... Wait a second." He turns to Souji. "You've done this kind of thing before. Do you know anything else that'll help?"</p><p>Souji starts in surprise. "Oh. Umm..." Oh geez. How much to say...? "I have experience with Personas and Shadows, but this situation has a lot of details I'm not familiar with."</p><p>Yosuke considers that. "Hmm. Okay, but I want to talk about that more later, when we're not about to keel over from exhaustion." That's a relief.</p><p>"U-Um... Can I ask something too...?" Teddie raises his hand. "If Shadows are born from humans, what was Teddie born from?" Oh right. They never actually figured out what Teddie was, did they?</p><p>Yosuke raises an eyebrow. "You don't even know where you came from?! How should we know?"</p><p>Teddie frowns. "I know some things. Mostly about this world... But I don't know anything about myself. To be honest, I never thought about it until now..."</p><p>"Are you serious...?" Yosuke sighs. "No wonder we couldn't get a straight answer out of you."</p><p>They all stand there lost in thought for a moment.</p><p>"Will you guys... come back here?" Teddie looks up at them hesitantly.</p><p>"Of course. We made a promise." Souji smiles at him.</p><p>"I mean, as long as you're here to let us out again..." Yosuke grins.</p><p>"Oh! Right! I have to let you guys out!" Teddie taps the ground with his foot and the exit TVs appear. "I'll be waiting for you guys here. You guys need to come in from the same place every time. So we can meet up. You could come in from somewhere else, but then you won't end up here. You might show up somewhere I couldn't get to you. Then you'd be dooooomed~" Teddie wiggles his fingers dramatically. "Got it?!"</p><p>"I think so. I guess its time for us to head out." Yosuke leads them to the exit TVs, where Teddie promptly shoves them out.</p><hr/><p>When they fall out of the TV at Junes, a sticky note falls off the screen. Souji picks it up off the floor next to him and reads it out loud.</p><p>"'If you guys are still alive, Hanamura owes me steak. Meet me at the food court to let me know you didn't die.' ...I think I know who wrote this." Souji surprises himself by chuckling. Hopefully this means Chie's doing better this time.</p><p>"Ugh..." Yosuke groans. "Do we have to? I just want to go home and sleep forever."</p><p>"I think we owe it to her." Souji pulls Yosuke to his feet and notices the writing on his hand. It's very smudged due to sweat, but Souji remembers what it said. "Oh! Don't let me forget, I need to pick up dinner for my cousin before we leave."</p><p>"Alright... lets get this over with..." Yosuke sighs.</p><hr/><p>"I can't believe you guys!" Chie is glaring at them. It's slightly terrifying, but Souji prefers this to near tears. "You just up and left me here by myself for <em>hours</em>, not knowing if you were dead or not!"</p><p>Chie is sitting at the official Investigation Team table with an empty drink and some half finished  homework. She's pointing a sharpened pencil at them threateningly.</p><p>"Sorry Chie..." Yosuke bows as deeply as he can. It does not appear to satisfy her.</p><p>"Ugh, you're the <em>worst</em>. You make me hold a rope that breaks literally as soon as you leave, so I'm just sitting there panicking and hoping you run into that bear again!"</p><p>"We ran into him almost immediately, actually." Souji interjects as he sits down at the table. "He asked us to help him catch the murderer after some... negotiation."</p><p>"Wait, don't tell me..." Chie stares at them in disbelief. "You mean that world really <em>does</em> have something to do with the murders? And you're going <em>back</em> there? <em>Again?!</em>"</p><p>"We did promise Teddie." Yosuke sighs from his seat. "And we're not exactly defenseless anymore..."</p><p>"I don't care! This is still stupid and dangerous!" She leans forward and growls. "You're talking about chasing a <em>murderer</em>." She hits the table for emphasis. "In a world full of <em>monsters</em>." She hits the table again.</p><p>"Well, we can't do too much anyway unless something else happens." Souji points out. "And if it's another person going missing, we can't exactly sit around and wait for them to show up dead, not if we know how to save them."</p><p>Chie stops at that, looking conflicted at the mention of rescuing potential victims. "I... guess you have a point. But I'm still not happy about this." She scowls at them.</p><p>"It's nice to know you care about what happens to us, at least." Souji smiles slightly. Chie just gives him a withering look. "I really should be heading home now. My cousin's waiting for me to bring dinner home." He gets up. "See you guys at school tomorrow."</p><p>"See you, Souji." Yosuke waves. Chie just grunts.</p><hr/><p>It's raining on the way home. Souji yawns. A lot happened today that he's going to need to sort through. He finally got Izanagi back, He fought Yosuke's shadow, and realized he's probably more traumatized than he's been giving himself credit for. Also he told Yosuke and Ted that he's dealt with Personas and Shadows before, so he needs to sort out his cover story. He sighs to himself.</p><p>
  <em>-Garudyne howls forward again, Souji shouts desperately, trying to get through to his partner, but he still has that dead look in his eyes-</em>
</p><p>Souji inhales sharply and shakes his head. The battle with Namatame's shadow keeps replaying in his head uninvited, ever since he fought Yosuke's shadow earlier today. Specifically the part of the fight when Namatame brain-washed Yosuke, which makes sense. It had been a terrifying few minutes, trying snap his partner out of it-</p><p>
  <em>Souji can hear Rise frantically trying to reach Yosuke, Souji is forced to his knees and finally switches his active persona to Garuda- the latest gust is reflected back at Yosuke- Susano-o blocks it- relief- that's right, he blocks wind, how did he forget-</em>
</p><p>He's spiraling again. Souji squeezes his eyes shut and scowls. He looks up at the sky through his umbrella, and watches rain drops slide down... That's right, the fight with Namatame's shadow at the top of Heaven had been the Investigation Team's last battle. They'd lost access to the TV World soon afterwards...</p><p>Souji realizes he's stopped walking and reluctantly starts moving again. The snacks and soda from earlier helped, but he still feels heavy and tired. As he walks down the flood plain, he passes the picnic shelter. Huh, Yukiko's sitting there. They meet each other's eyes. Souji walks over.</p><p>"Hey. Fancy meeting you here." Souji folds his umbrella and sits down with his grocery bag.</p><p>"Oh, hello... Are you surprised to see me dressed this way? My parents sent me out on an errand..." Yukiko smiles self consciously.</p><p>Souji tries to respond, but ends up stifling a massive yawn instead. "Sorry." He grits out.</p><p>"Are you still getting used to your new town and school?" She asks.</p><p>"I guess so. I think I like it here though." Souji smiles fondly.</p><p>"Really...? But... it must be difficult, moving to a place you know nothing about." She looks away. "I've never been out of Inaba, so I wouldn't know what it's like to transfer to a new school..." They watch the rain fall for a moment. "Oh! Are you getting along with Chie? I mean, I always leave early, so... Umm..."</p><p>"I don't really know yet, but I think we will. I can tell she cares." Even if she mostly expresses it as anger in his and Yosuke's case.</p><p>"I'm glad to hear that." Yukiko smiles again. "Chie's very supportive, you know. It's always her who gives me the little extra push I need. We had homeroom together last year too, and I still remember how we'd cut class sometimes." Souji doesn't remember hearing about that last time. That's cute. "Oh... I should get going. I need to make tomorrow's arrangements with our head chef. Our inn can't function without me right now." She stands up and bows to him. "Um... I'll see you at school, then." Yukiko picks up her umbrella and begins to head off.</p><p>"Uh, hang on." Yukiko turns to face him. Souji hesitates for a moment. Yukiko's about to be kidnapped and trapped in a castle. Is there anything he can say to help her...? "Just... remember you're stronger than you think you are. Give yourself a chance."</p><p>Yukiko gives him a look he can't read. "...I'll keep that in mind." She says softly. She turns and walks off into the rain.</p><p>Souji sits there for a couple more minutes before groaning and hauling himself to his feet.</p><hr/><p>Souji brings dinner home with him that night, just like he said he would. He was also home late, and tired, just like he said, but Nanako supposes that was okay since he warned her yesterday.</p><p>After they eat, she watches Souji curl up on the couch with a pillow. He looks comfy. He doesn't fall asleep though, he watches TV with her even though he's tired.</p><p>Nanako looks at the door. "Dad's late..." She sighs.</p><p>The TV is reporting another death. It looks like it's a girl from Souji's school.</p><p>"Another incident..." Nanako looks down. She knows what that means. "Dad won't be coming home tonight."</p><p>"I'll be here with you." Souji speaks up. "Well, as much as I can be when I'm practically falling asleep anyway..." He trails of with a yawn. "Sorry."</p><p>"That's okay. I'm glad you're here." And she is. It's nice having someone to talk to occasionally, just so she knows she's not alone. He's not great at talking, but neither is she, so it's okay.</p><p>"...Thanks Nanako." Souji smiles at her from the couch. Nanako realizes he has the same look on his face as when he asked her for a hug a couple of days ago. Tired and sad.</p><p>"...Are you okay? Do you need another hug?" Maybe that's why he's hugging the pillow so tightly.</p><p>Souji looks surprised for a moment. "...Yes actually. Can I have one?"</p><p>Nanako doesn't answer, instead she stands up and walks over to the couch. Souji sits up a little to make room for her to sit down, and she gives him a hug. Instead of letting go though, they keep sitting next to each other on the couch, and watch TV together. Nanako decides she likes sitting next to him like this.</p><p>An interview with a girl in a kimono comes on. Souji starts grumbling next to her. "Do you know her?" Nanako looks up at him.</p><p>"Yeah, she's in my class. It looks like that reporter is bothering her." Souji sounds like he doesn't like that.</p><p>Nanako looks back at the TV, and thinks she agrees with Souji. The girl in the kimono looks like she doesn't want to talk to the reporter, but the reporter keeps asking her questions anyway.</p><p>"Oh!" Nanako sits up. "I need to do the dishes..." She gets up, and Souji starts to follow her.</p><p>"I'll help."</p><p>Nanako frowns at him. "Aren't you tired, though?"</p><p>"Yeah, but I can still help."</p><p>"Okay." Nanako nods, and doesn't add that her dad doesn't usually help with the dishes, even when he's not tired.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Nanako is a good emotional support cousin.</p><p>One more chapter for the night, huh?<br/>...I really don't have anything else to do right now.</p><p>Updated 8-17-20, added the scene at the beginning, and a bit to the encounter with Yukiko.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The Magician Social Link</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji finally reforms the Magician Social Link and gives said Magician some friendly reminders. The team is worried about Yukiko, so they head to Junes to ask Teddie about it. Souji gets his hand bitten for his troubles.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It occurs to Souji that he doesn't <em>really</em> need to watch the Midnight Channel tonight, he already knows who the next target is, after all. Then he reluctantly decides that he does need to keep an eye out for any changes, and resigns himself to staying up till midnight. After all, he's back in the early days of the case. If there's a good time to spot new clues they may have missed the first time around, it's now.</p><hr/><p>Yukiko shows up, as expected. No new clues were gotten.</p><hr/><p>Souji gets the Velvet Key from Igor that night. He also gets some cryptic advice. But also, some less cryptic reassurance, which Souji appreciates right now.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Saturday, April 16</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Morning</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>The next morning, Souji frowns at the notes he wrote right before going to bed last night. They're... a bit ramble-y and unhelpful.</p><p>Among other things, he had tried coming up with a cover story for his future knowledge, but ended up coming up with more ways to deflect questions than actual answers for said questions.</p><p>"I was part of a team who fought Shadows using Personas in a world similar to the TV World in order to protect people from the Shadows. Things didn't end well and my former teammates are unavailable to help with the current situation."</p><p>Yeah, that's a bit barebones to the point of being almost entirely unhelpful. Naoto, for one, will almost certainly see right through it immediately when she joins the team. Or even before she joins the team. Souji decides that Past Souji is an idiot and wishes Future Souji good luck.</p><hr/><p>There's still a smudge on Souji's hand where he wrote a reminder to buy dinner yesterday. He did remember dinner, but what he forgot was the chocolate bar he wanted to get Nanako for being awesome. Today as Souji walks to school, he has a whole paper full of reminders stuffed in his pocket.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>&gt; No weapons in the food court!!!<br/>&gt; Replacement snacks, firecrackers<br/>&gt; Daidara's (probably can't afford much yet)<br/>&gt; Chocolate for Nanako<br/>&gt; Research mental illnesses/general psychology (check bookstore? internet? school library?)<br/>&gt; Hang w/ Nanako on Mon. or Tue.<br/>&gt; Tell Yosuke about Nanako's mom beforehand</p>
</blockquote><p>...Hopefully he hasn't forgotten anything.</p><hr/><p>Souji hears a familiar bell behind him.</p><p>"Yo!" Yosuke stops his bike and hops off next to Souji. "You saw what was on last night, right? I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown up on TV, we can't ignore it. Let's check it out after school. Maybe Teddie can tell us something."</p><p>"Oh!" Souji just had an idea. He pulls out his list and a pencil. "I just remembered..."</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>&gt; Get Teddie some building blocks or coloring books or something.</p>
</blockquote><p>"I think we should get Teddie something to occupy himself with. I don't want him to get bored and have an existential crises or something." Speaking from experience, it might happen anyway.</p><p>"You think?" Yosuke cocks his head. "He doesn't seem like the type to worry about anything existential..."</p><p>"He <em>did </em>seem a bit upset about not knowing what he is." Souji reminds him. "I just want him to have <em>something</em> to do when we're not there."</p><p>"Fair enough." Yosuke shrugs. "But hopefully Teddie knows something. We don't really have much to go on, but if someone really is throwing people in there on purpose... We need to stop them from using that world as a weapon." He takes a breath and looks at Souji. "There's no way the police can do it. Who'd believe that the murderer kills people by throwing them in a TV? No one would listen to us."</p><p>"Yeah." Souji nods. He remembers what happened the last time he tried to tell an adult what was going on. "It has to be us."</p><p>"Hehe..." Yosuke grins. "Cool. It's reassuring to hear someone else say it." He glances down the path. "...We should probably keep walking, don't wanna be late."</p><p>Souji nods and starts walking towards school again, Yosuke wheeling his bike beside him.</p><p>"You know, I tried sticking my head into the TV last night, the way you did-"</p><p>"Wait, you stuck your <em>head</em> in?" Souji looks at Yosuke incredulously. "After what happened last time?! Why didn't you just use your hand?"</p><p>"Huh?! I mean- you did the same thing!" Yosuke sputters.</p><p>"Yeah, cause I'm an idiot!" Souji jabs his thumb into his chest. "I'm not saying you aren't, but you could at least be a different kind of idiot than me!"</p><p>Yosuke stares at him just long enough for Souji to start feeling a little embarrassed. Then he just looks skyward for a moment before giving Souji a <em>look</em>. "The point <em>was</em>, I can enter TVs too now, probably 'cause I have the same power you do. Persona, right?"</p><p>"Yeah." Souji isn't certain, but he's pretty sure Yosuke is getting a little tired of Souji interrupting his cool guy speeches before he even starts.</p><p>"I think we got this power specifically so we can solve this case, you know?" Yosuke is looking ahead into the distance. He stops walking and looks at Souji again. "I feel like, as long as you're with me, I can find the culprit and crack this case." He holds out his hand. "You with me, partner?" Yosuke grins.</p><p>Partner. "Yeah, all the way." Souji shakes his hand and grins back. "Partner."</p><p>
  <em>*Smash!*</em>
</p><p>Souji hears a sound like shattering glass. He would've jumped if he didn't recognize the sound, or if time hadn't stopped.</p><p>
  <em>Thou art I, And I am thou.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Thou has reforged an old bond.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>It brings thee closer to the truth.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana.</em>
</p><p>The words are slightly different from what Souji remembers, but he recognizes the social link announcement. ...These things drove him nuts last time, with all the time stopping at inconvenient moments.</p><p>Souji just kind of zones out until time starts flowing again.</p><hr/><p>"By the way, Yosuke."</p><p>"...Yeah?"</p><p>"This is a friendly reminder that waving weapons like swords and knives around in public is illegal, and likely to get one arrested."</p><p>"...Okay?"</p><hr/><p>Yosuke is still puzzling over the unprompted weapon handling advice when Chie runs into the classroom.</p><p>Seriously, Souji's thought process is incomprehensible. ...At least in the moment. In retrospect it tends to make sense. He could stand to be less cryptic, though.</p><p>Yosuke shakes off his bewilderment. "Uh... Chie!" He starts fidgeting with his headphone cable. "Um... Sorry again, about yesterday..."</p><p>"Never mind that." Chie looks around the classroom like she's looking for someone. "Is Yukiko still not here?" Ah. That explains it.</p><p>Yosuke looks around the classroom himself. "Huh? Y-Yukiko-san?" He feels dumb for stuttering, but Chie is scary, dammit. "Uh... no? At least, I haven't seen her today."</p><p>Chie starts pulling at one of her sleeves. "Oh man... What should I do...?" She looks at him and Souji. "Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real? About how people show up on the Midnight Channel go missing in that other world?"</p><p>"Oh, we were just talking about that. We're thinking of checking it out later-" Yosuke responds idly.</p><p>"The person on the TV yesterday... I think it was Yukiko." Chie tells them. Yosuke stands up straighter. That actually fits what he saw pretty well. "That kimono looked like the one she wears at the inn, and she wore it during that interview a few days ago too. I got so worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded..." Chie starts rambling. "I called her earlier in the evening though, and she said she'd be at school today... I-I..." She looks like she's on the verge of tears.</p><p>"Calm down." Yosuke says as gently as he can. "We get the picture. And you still haven't heard from her?"</p><p>"No..."</p><p>"Have you tried calling the inn itself? She might have gotten caught up in more work than she expected." Souji pipes up.</p><p>"Oh! Right, if she's working at the inn, she might not be able to answer her cellphone..." Chie pulls out her phone and dials the inn. "...Oh, is this Yukiko?!" She covers the receiver for a moment. "Thank god, she's there!" Chie talks on the phone to presumably Yukiko for a few moments before hanging up. She sighs in relief. "She was over at the inn. She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out. Yeah... Now that I think about it, this has happened before, too. At least once a year. She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too."</p><p>"Huh." Yosuke thinks about this. "So what's up with the Midnight Channel, then? I thought it showed people <em>after</em> they got thrown in..."</p><p>"You're assuming that <em>was</em> Yukiko on the TV last night." Souji points out. "For the record, I think it was her too, but there's a possibility it wasn't." That's a good point.</p><p>"...I guess we need to talk to Teddie then." Yosuke sighs.</p><hr/><p>On the way to Junes, they explain what happened yesterday to Chie. Yosuke cuts Souji off before he can go into too much detail about his shadow. "O-Okay, I think that's more that enough about my sorry escapades."</p><p>"Speaking of sorry escapades," Souji interjects before Chie can. "This is a perfect example of a place where someone should <em>not</em> swing weapons around wildly."</p><p>"What? This again?!" Yosuke has no idea why Souji keeps bringing this up.</p><p>"Huh? What's this about waving weapons around?" Chie looks at Yosuke suspiciously, which is totally profiling by the way.</p><p>"Don't ask me, Souji's the one who keeps bringing it up." He grumbles. "Anyways, we need to know what's going on inside-" He glances around the electronics department, noticing all the people nearby.</p><p>"How? By talking to that Teddie guy?"</p><p>"Yeah." Yosuke looks around again. "Too bad there's so many customers around... I forgot there's a sale in the electronics department today..." He trails off and taps his foot. "Oh! I got it! C'mere a sec." Souji raises an eyebrow but does as he's asked. "Try sticking your hand in and calling him over. I bet that bear's wandering around the entrance anyway." He tells Souji quietly. "Hey Chie, stand over here. Make a wall with me."</p><p>"A wall?" Chie looks confused, but stands where he tells her to.</p><p>Souji hesitates for a moment, then pushes his hand into the TV screen. A few seconds pass. Souji suddenly flinches back and cradles his hand.</p><p>"Wh-What's wrong?!" Yosuke says a little more loudly than he intended.</p><p>"Shhh! Not so loud, you idiot!" He sees Chie wince. "D-Dude, is that a bite mark?! Are you okay?!" She leans over to look at Souji's hand.</p><p>Souji grumbles a bit and rubs his hand. "...m'fine."</p><p>"Sheesh, that stupid bear must have done it." Chie leans closer to the TV and hisses. "Hey, you! We know you're in there!"</p><p>To Yosuke's slight surprise, Teddie's voice echos out of the TV screen. "Ooh ooh, is this a game?"</p><p>"No, it's not a game!" Yosuke scowls. "Can you sense anyone in there right now?"</p><p>"Who's "anyone"? I'm just a lonely little bear like always. This land feels so bear-en..." Teddie just made a bear pun. Great.</p><p>"Shut it!" Chie growls. Souji gives her a look, but she doesn't seem to notice. "So there's no one inside...? You're sure?"</p><p>"I-I'm not lying! My nose is running as good as ever!"</p><p>"We believe you." Souji reassures him. "Thanks, Teddie."</p><p>They stand there for a moment, thinking.</p><p>"...I'm gonna go warn Yukiko anyway. Since she'll be busy this weekend helping out at the inn, I doubt she'd go anywhere alone, but still..." Chie trails off.</p><p>"Yeah... You'll walk with her to school on Monday, right?" Yosuke feels pretty good about this plan. If Yukiko is surrounded by people all weekend, it'll be pretty difficult to throw her in a TV without anyone noticing, right?</p><p>"Sure, I'll go pick her up at her house."</p><p>"Maybe we'll find out more on tonight's Midnight Channel. Cross your fingers that this is all just a misunderstanding." Yosuke sighs.</p><p>"...You know what else would lead to a misunderstanding? Waving swords around in the food court."</p><p>Yosuke's eye twitches.</p><hr/><p>Souji's glad Yosuke still gave him his phone number after all the food court reminders. </p><p>...He already had it memorized, but Yosuke doesn't know that.</p><hr/><p>"Welcome back!" Nanako looks up and smiles as Souji closes the door behind him.</p><p>"Hi, Nanako." Souji smiles back at her and kicks his shoes off. "I've got you something."</p><p>"Really?" She tilts her head slightly.</p><p>"Yep." He walks over to her and pulls a box of pocky out of his bag. "Ta-da!"</p><p>Nanako gasps. "Really?!" She looks completely adorable.</p><p>"Yeah. I wanted to say thank you for being an awesome cousin." He hands the box to her. "You've been really nice to me since I moved here."</p><p>Nanako is at a loss for words for a moment as she clutches the box to her chest. "...Thank you!" She beams up at him, eyes sparkling.</p><p>Souji just smiles and sits down next to her on the floor.</p><p>They spend the next few hours sharing pocky and watching Featherman.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Edited 8-21-2020<br/>Stuff added to the beginning of this chapter after deleting the previous chapter cause I didn't like it</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Dodging Questions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yukiko goes missing, Souji and Yosuke do <em>not</em> get arrested, and Yosuke tries to get answers out of Souji, with moderate success.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Saturday, April 16</strong> </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Night</strong> </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>"I've got my lacy unmentionables, stacked from top to bottom!"</em>
</p><p>Souji stands in his room grimacing at the now dark TV. Yukiko's Midnight Channel was much harder to watch now that he actually knows her. The Midnight Channel basically shows the part of it's subject that they hate most about themselves...</p><p>...These get broadcasted all over town. Souji rubs his face as his cellphone starts ringing.</p><p>He flips it open. "Hey."</p><p>"H-Hey, did you see that?!" Oh right, this is more or less Yosuke's first time seeing one of these... "That was Yukiko-san for sure! It looked like her... I mean, she even said her name! But didn't the stuff she was saying sound weird?!"</p><p>"Yeah, it sounded like something a shadow would say."</p><p>"Oh, crap, that's a good point..." Yosuke trails off. "So, does that mean Yukiko-san also has a shadow?" Before Souji can answer, Yosuke cuts himself off. "Wait, that's not important right now. Does this mean she's in the TV World?"</p><p>"Try calling Chie."</p><p>"Oh! Right, she can check if Yukiko-san is still... uh... available." Yosuke stumbles a bit to find a word. "Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning!"</p><p>"Okay. Speaking of Junes though, that's a good place to be very discrete with any weapons one may or may not try to smuggle into the electronics department."</p><p>"Look, I get the point! No weapons in public! Geez, I'm not an idiot..." Yosuke grumbles on the other end of the phone.</p><p>"See you tomorrow, partner." Souji flicks his phone closed and sniggers quietly to himself. Maybe it's kind of mean, but at least this way the message should stick in Yosuke's head.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Sunday, April 17</strong> </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Morning</strong> </span>
</p><hr/><p>The next morning, Souji trundles down the stairs while stuffing his arm in his jacket sleeve. He spots Nanako in the living room. Oh, right. He walks over to her.</p><p>Nanako looks up. "Oh, good morning."</p><p>"Hey, Nanako." Souji sits down in his spot. "I'm going to be out for most of the day. Sorry."</p><p>"Okay. What are you going to be doing?"</p><p>"Well, me and my friends are working on a project together." Souji pauses. "I don't <em>think</em> it'll take all day, so I should be back fairly early." Last time most of the day was taken up by getting arrested. They should have plenty of time to spare, provided Yosuke was paying attention. "It depends on how much my friends want to work on it."</p><p>"That sounds like fun." She smiles at him.</p><p>"By the way, I wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten my promise to take you to Junes." Souji tries not to wince at how surprised she looks. "I need to double check with them, but I think today or tomorrow me and my friends can take a break from our project after school. Does that sound okay?"</p><p>Nanako smiles more genuinely this time. "Okay! That sounds great!"</p><p>"Can you turn on the weather before I go? I'd like to check."</p><p>"Okay!"</p><hr/><p>Yosuke spends most of his morning trying to figure out how to carry weapons into Junes discretely. Souji and his constant "reminders" yesterday have him second guessing himself.</p><p>"Okay, but like... how discrete does "discrete" mean?" He mutters to himself as he looks at the katana and nata he found. "Like, I'm not going to go waving them around... Do I need to disguise them...?" He glares at the katana. "...That's not really going to fit in a bag." He taps his foot rapidly and grumbles wordlessly. Jiraiya tells him he's over thinking it. "...Maybe if it's sheathed I can just say it's fake if anyone asks."</p><hr/><p>Souji is already waiting at a table with a drink when Yosuke arrives, carrying the katana as nonchalantly as he can. Souji raises an eyebrow. </p><p>Yosuke glares at him. "Oh, shut it. I'm not waving it around like a lunatic." He sits down and sets the katana on the floor in front of him, the bag with the nata on top obscuring the handle.</p><p>"I didn't say anything." Souji slurps his drink innocently.</p><p>"You didn't have to, you said it all yesterday. At length." Yosuke continues to glare. "You could have just told me to be careful, you know. You didn't need to be all passive aggressive about it."</p><p>"I thought you might remember better this way. Also it was funny." ...Of all the people Yosuke could have as a partner, it had to be this guy.</p><p>Yosuke continues to glower for a few more seconds. "...Okay, fine. Chie said she wanted to meet up with us, so I guess we gotta wait for her. In the meantime..." Yosuke looks his partner in the eyes. "I want you to tell me about where the heck you learned about all this stuff."</p><p>He sees Souji wince and lower his drink. "...Yeah, I figured that'd come up again sooner or later. ...What do you want to know?"</p><p>Yosuke thinks for a moment. Where's a good place to start... "How and when did you get your Persona?"</p><p>"Izanagi?" Souji leans back. "I first summoned him about a year ago, I think..." He frowns. "...You know, I'm not actually sure how I got him..."</p><p>Yosuke raises an eyebrow. "I got Jiraiya from my shadow. It was different for you?"</p><p>"..." Souji is still frowning at his drink. "...I don't remember ever meeting my shadow. Which is odd, every other persona user I've met got theirs from accepting their shadow..."</p><p>"'Every other persona user'? There's others?!" Yosuke sits up. This is something he hadn't considered.</p><p>"Well, given the killer is able to shove people through TVs, and <em>we</em> could only enter them with personas, I think its a safe bet the killer has a persona."</p><p>"Could any of the others you know-"</p><p>Souji's already shaking his head. "No, none of them are the killer. None of then <em>can</em> be."</p><p>He gives Souji a look. "...How sure are you? This is really important."</p><p>"Completely sure. It is literally impossible for one of them to be the killer." Souji closes his eyes. "Quite frankly, if they are, we have much bigger issues to worry about."</p><p>Well, that's ominous. Yosuke thinks it through. "...Okay. That sounds like they can't help us with the case, then?"</p><p>"Yeah. They're all unavailable." Souji's eyes are still closed. He's holding his drink with both hands. There's obviously a story here.</p><p>"So, who were these other persona users?" Yosuke uses the past tense without thinking. "How did you know them?"</p><p>"I was on a team with them. We fought shadows."</p><p>"Huh." Yosuke mulls over what he's been told and what he's seen from Souji. It lines up, though he could use a few more details. "...So, why were you fighting shadows?"</p><p>Souji sighs and looks at Yosuke again. "...It's a long story, but we had to fight them to keep them from hurting people."</p><p>"Keep them- were they in the real world?!" Yosuke feels alarmed at the possibility. Jiraiya tenses in the back of his mind.</p><p>Souji pauses a little too long. "...No. Because we kept them back."</p><p>"Okay, but <em>can</em> shadows come to the real world?" Yosuke needs to know the answer to this.</p><p>"Only under certain conditions." Souji seems to notice Yosuke's worry. "None of which have been met here. Shadows typically don't even bother trying on their own." Souji leans back and closes his eyes again. "If I see any of the warning signs I'm used to, I'll let you know."</p><p>Yosuke looks down and taps his foot. Shadows in the real world... The idea makes him sick just thinking about it. Fighting through <em>fog in familiar hallways, barricading the doors and hoping they don't find them-</em></p><p>He stands up abruptly. "I'm gonna go buy a drink." He catches Souji's eyebrows knit in concern before he turns away.</p><hr/><p>Souji half sighs, half growls at himself after Yosuke walks away. This is exactly what he had wanted to avoid. Making up information that may or may not be true could lead to disaster for the team. So could implying that Souji has knowledge he doesn't actually have.</p><p>Can Shadows enter the real world? Souji's never seen it happen, he doesn't know. His gut says it's possible, and has something to do with the damned fog, but he doesn't KNOW that.</p><p>Still, the look on Yosuke's face at the mention of shadows in the real world... He's only seen two Hableries and his own shadow, and he was unconscious for most of the second encounter. Is that really enough to warrant the look of horror and dread Yosuke had? He looked almost haunted... like they all had in November...</p><p>Souji shakes his head. He's looking too deeply into this.</p><p>...He wonders what his kohai are doing right now. Kanji is probably somewhere in town, planning to beat up a biker gang, Rise's trying to get a break from showbiz, Naoto... Naoto's probably going to be taking the case soon. He wonders if she's already following the case. Inaba <em>is</em> near where she grew up, from what he remembers. ...Souji never actually got to know her that well outside of the case.</p><p>Speaking of the younger members of the team... He pulls out his checklist.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>&gt; Get Teddie some building blocks or coloring books or something.</p>
</blockquote><p>They're going to see Ted today... But Souji is pretty much out of money right now. He blew it all on pinwheels. And other stuff, but the pinwheels are the most noteworthy in his mind. And the best investment, in terms of general enjoyment.</p><p>So he's going to need to beat up some shadows and/or get a job before he gets Teddie anything. ...Actually, he already has a bag of ice cubes, doesn't he? Souji left the second bag of ice in the TV World, because they don't melt there for some reason. Hopefully practicing ice magic will be enough to keep Ted occupied for now.</p><p>"Hey, I'm back." Yosuke plops back into his seat and cracks open his soda. "Chie still not here?"</p><p>"Haven't seen her yet..." Souji lifts his head and looks around. "Did she say when she'd get here?"</p><p>"Nah, but she should be here by now..." Yosuke pulls out his phone. "Hang on, I'll call her."</p><p>Souji puts his checklist away and starts to go over TV preparations in his head. He can't afford any more healing items, but that should be okay with Yosuke and Jiraiya. He should have Dia either now or pretty soon, that'll be enough to handle any injuries they get from the shadows they'll be dealing with today... Well, Chie's shadow might give them trouble... was she weak to wind? A bit weird since Chie herself is weak to fire, but better for Souji and his pinwheels.</p><p>"Hey, Chie. You almost here yet? ...." Yosuke looks up and cranes his head towards the food court entrance. "Oh, hey." He flips the phone closed as Chie walks quickly up to the table.</p><p>"Sorry I took so long, I went to Yukiko's house to check on her because she wasn't answering her phone-" Chie pauses to take a breath. "-But she wasn't there! They thought she was with me!"</p><p>Yosuke hisses out a breath. "Okay. Then we need to go check with Teddie again." He stands up and grabs the bag and katana. "Everyone good to go now?"</p><p>"Yep." Souji stands up.</p><p>Chie hops from foot to foot. "Okay, then let's go already!"</p><p>They head off to the electronics department.</p><hr/><p>Somewhere else entirely, Naoto Shirogane raises an eyebrow at the newest missing person report coming out of Inaba. Yukiko Amagi, a female second-year highschool student, last seen by staff members of the Amagi Inn. </p><p>He taps the file against his chin thoughtfully. Amagi seems likely to be the next victim of the Inaba serial killer. The local police have made little progress investigating the case- they haven't even declared the cause of death for the first two victims.</p><p>...Perhaps they could use some outside assistance.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wrote the last bit with Naoto cause I miss them.</p><p>Did you know writing is harder when other people are reading it? I didn't. I think I need to change my approach to posting. (I am new to this)</p><p>As of this chapter going up, chapters 15 and 16 have been updated. I fleshed out the fight with Yosuke's shadow a bit more, and added a scene to the start of 16 to make it compatible with the changes. I'm happier with their quality now.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Follow The Fool</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The gang enters a castle to save Yukiko, but they end up saving Chie instead.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Sunday, April 17</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>After School</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>Souji rubs the bridge of his nose under his glasses as they jog after Chie. He'd forgotten just how anxious she'd been about this. She barely waited long enough to actually find out where Yukiko was before running off.</p><p>"...Okay, guys. Slow down. I don't think we're gonna catch up to her." Souji pants. He's back to his original level of fitness, which is just <em>great</em>. "We're going to be in danger if we run into any shadows like this."</p><p>Yosuke groans theatrically and rests his hands on his knees. "Fine by me. But is she gonna be okay on her own?"</p><p>Souji looks at Teddie. Better to let him answer than have to explain how he knows this stuff. </p><p>"Uhm, she doesn't have a bear-sona, so I think the shadows will leave her alone until the fog lifts." Teddie looks at Souji. "They didn't attack the others until then, so..."</p><p>"Okay." Souji thinks for a moment. They stopped in a relatively open space, so they should be able to spot or hear any incoming shadows. "Hey Ted, did you figure out the ice cubes at all while we were gone?" There had been quite a few ice patches around the entrance, but Souji hadn't had time to ask.</p><p>"Oh! Yes, I did!" Teddie hops excitedly before shuffling his feet. "But, um... I used up most of them practicing..." He pulls the bag out of his suit. Sure enough, it's nearly empty, but there's still enough for a few good shots.</p><p>"Alright. Hold onto those for now, use them in emergencies." Souji gathers his thoughts again. "Teddie, can you act as our navigator? Keep track of Shadow weaknesses and strengths, and what floor we're on."</p><p>"Aye-aye, sensei!" Teddie salutes cheerfully.</p><p>"Strengths and weaknesses?" Yosuke asks.</p><p>"Shadows- and us- have weaknesses and strengths to different elements. For example, Izanagi is weak to Garu- wind- and resists Zio- or electricity." Souji explains.</p><p>"Huh... okay." Yosuke thinks for a moment. "...What am I weak to?"</p><p>"Try asking Jiraiya."</p><p>"Ask...?" Yosuke goes momentarily cross-eyed. "...Weak to Zio, resist Garu. Huh." He looks at Souji. "Opposite to you."</p><p>"What skills does Jiraiya have, by the way?" Souji asks to keep up appearances, but also because it's been a while.</p><p>"Umm... Garu, Bash, and Dia. What's Dia...? Oh, healing. Neat."</p><p>"Guess you're the designated medic for now." Souji grins and looks over Yosuke's shoulder. "Just in time, too!"</p><p>"Huh?" Yosuke turns to see what Souji's looking at. "Gah!" He jerks backward as he sees the shadow sliding towards them. "Jiraiya!" Yosuke flails wildly and manages to swat the card that appears in front of him. It shatters and Jiraiya is summoned for the first time as the shadow splits into two Hableries. One of them manages to lick Yosuke before Jiraiya blasts it away with Garu.</p><p><em>'...Yeah, I definitely need to start him with blunt weapons.'</em> Souji crushes his own card and summons Izanagi. Two Zios and a katana later, all that's left of the shadows is some money and a couple teeth. He walks over and picks it up.</p><p>"Aaaah..." Yosuke is standing there covered in slobber and looking a little shell-shocked. Jiraiya looks at him for a moment before patting him on the head. Yosuke jerks and swats Jiraiya's hand away.</p><p>"Hey, look at that, the Magician can use magic!" Souji walks up to Yosuke, and Izanagi and Jiraiya fade away.</p><p>"Magician?"</p><p>"Yeah." Souji summons Izanagi's card, but holds it by the corner instead of shattering it. "These are tarot cards. Summon Jiraiya's card for me?"</p><p>Yosuke holds out his hand and frowns. The card appears and he looks at it closely. "Uh... A guy holding some fire?"</p><p>"And the roman numeral one, right?" Yosuke nods. "That's The Magician. Mine is number zero, The Fool." Souji shows his card to Yosuke, then to Teddie when he leans over.</p><p>"...So what you're saying is I've been following around a fool?"</p><p>"Yep. Right off the cliff." Souji points to the cliff on his card. Yosuke just hangs his head.</p><p>"Great."</p><hr/><p>Moving through this castle on her own was easier than Chie had expected. She had run into a few of what she thinks the others called "shadows", but they had completely ignored her in favor of sliding towards where she had last seen the others. That observation had made her stop briefly, but her anxiety over Yukiko overrode her concern for Yosuke, the transfer student, and that weird bear thing. They survived the last trip they took in here, they'll probably be fine on their own.</p><hr/><p>"Hey, uh, I could use something to hit enemies with..."</p><p>Souji hands Yosuke a pair of wrenches.</p><p>Yosuke gives him a <em>look</em>.</p><hr/><p>Yet another dead end looms out of the fog ahead of Chie. She frantically skids to a stop right before colliding with the wall. She growls in frustration. How the hell did the others seem to know where they were going?!</p><hr/><p>"Hey, Yosuke."</p><p>"Yeah, partner?"</p><p>"You know what Jiraiya's shurikens look like?"</p><p>"...What?"</p><p>"They look like pinwheels."</p><p>"GOD DAMMIT."</p><hr/><p>Chie takes the stairs two at a time and shoves her way through yet another set of giant double doors. Yukiko was probably at the top of this castle. If all the fairy tales Yukiko used to read were any indication, the pretty girls were usually trapped at the top of towers. Usually guarded by a dragon. A dragon Chie will kick in the face.</p><hr/><p>Souji hears Yosuke let out a breath as Jiraiya dissolves after a fight. "Hey, partner?" He takes off his headphones.</p><p>"What's up?"</p><p>"When you summon Izanagi, does it always feel like..." Yosuke seems to be searching for words.</p><p>"...Like you're two people at once?" Souji guesses.</p><p>"Yeah! Like... I'm seeing, hearing, and feeling double, but not exactly?" Yosuke waves his hand as he tries to explain it. "It still feels like Jiraiya is doing his own thing, but at the same time, that's just another part of what <em>I'm</em> doing...?"</p><p>"Yeah, it's weird." Souji tilts his head. "I've never found a good way to explain it, but that sounds about right."</p><p>"It's kinda disorienting..." Yosuke half chuckles, half sighs.</p><p>"Tell me about it." Souji thinks about his constantly shifting array of personas.</p><p>"...I wonder what it's like to have a bear-sona..." Teddie says, quietly fiddling with an ice cube.</p><hr/><p>Chie kicks the door again, and growls, again. The second door on the second floor appears to be locked. Great. Why weren't any of the other doors locked?! Now she has to wait for the dork squad to show up.</p><p>She stalks back to the middle of the large room and starts pacing. Now that she isn't charging head first through the castle, she's starting to feel sick. It's probably all the stupid fog.</p><p>...Yukiko has been trapped somewhere in this foggy castle since at least yesterday evening, according to the bear.</p><p>Chie grits her teeth and tries to channel her fear and anxiety back into anger. She kicks the door again. Then the voices start.</p><hr/><p>They head through the first floor of the castle, bashing shadows when they pop up. Souji starts getting new personas again, which gives him yet another thing he has to explain to Yosuke and Teddie. He also starts picking up weird cards he's never seen before, and Teddie doesn't know what they are. Souji pockets them anyway.</p><p>Souji kneels down to open a treasure chest. "You know, we're probably going to run into Chie's shadow."</p><p>"Huh? What do you mean?"</p><p>"Your shadow was triggered by the voices at the liquor store, it makes sense Chie might run into something here related to Amagi-san that triggers hers." Souji stands up and glares at the peach seed he found. "I'm just saying we should be ready for a fight."</p><p>Yosuke looks worried, "...You think she'll try to deny it, like I did?"</p><p>"Probably." Souji sighs. "Most people do, that's kind of the point. But if we can defeat it and she accepts it, she'll get a persona."</p><p>"That'd be good." Yosuke frowns again. "But still..."</p><p>"Just be ready for a fight if it turns up." Souji leads the way back down the corridor. "That's all we can really do."</p><p>"...If you say so." He doesn't look happy.</p><hr/><p>"There she is!" Teddie exclaims as they reach the second floor. "Chie-chan is in there!" He gestures at the enormous double doors in front of them.</p><p>"...Okay." Souji lets out a breath. "Ted, can I have those Soul Drops I asked you to hang on to?" </p><p>"Sure thing!" Teddie hands Souji a small pile of Soul Drops, who divides them between him and Yosuke. </p><p>"These should replenish your spiritual energy, or the stuff you use to summon Jiraiya and cast magic."</p><p>"Neat. ...Do I eat them, or...?" Yosuke watches Souji eat one of his. "Guess so." He puts one in his mouth. "...Tingly." He makes a face.</p><p>Souji raises and eyebrow at Yosuke- then immediately shoves the rest of his Soul Drops into his mouth all at once.</p><p>"..." Yosuke looks down at the Soul Drops still sitting in his hand, then back up at Souji, who's cheeks are bulging slightly. He looks like a chipmunk. "...Yeah. I don't understand you sometimes. ...Like, at all." Souji continues to stare at him while chewing. Yosuke looks away from him awkwardly and puts another drop into his mouth.</p><hr/><p>A set of double doors fly open.</p><p>"Chie! Are you all right?!" Yosuke calls out as they run into the room. "Chie...?" She doesn't respond visibly.</p><p><em>"She said that red looks good on me..."</em> Yukiko's voice echos through the room. Souji tries to steel himself for what he knows is coming.</p><p>"Yukiko-san?!" Yosuke looks frantically around the room, confused.</p><p>Yukiko's voice continues, talking about how worthless she thinks she is and how Chie is the only one who gives her life meaning. Souji winces. He'd seen Yukiko's confidence and abilities grow so much over the course of the next year. She'd become one of the core pillars of the team, and seeing- or rather hearing- her like this again was painful.</p><p>
  <em>"Chie protects me... She looks after my worthless life... And I... I don't deserve any of it..."</em>
</p><p>"Yukiko, I-I..." Souji still can't see her face, but Chie seems at a loss for words. He tightens his grip on his katana when the next voice rings out.</p><p>
  <strong>"'Chie is so kind,' huh? What a joke."</strong>
</p><p>"Wh-What...?!" Chie frantically starts rubbing her sleeves across her face. Her shadow fades into existence in front of her.</p><p>"Oh man... Is that...?!" Yosuke tenses next to Souji.</p><p>"It's just like Yosuke!" Teddie exclaims from behind them. "She lost control over her suppressed self, now it's a shadow!"</p><p><strong>"Are we talking about THAT Yukiko?! She says I'm protecting her?! She says she's worthless!"</strong> Chie's shadow chuckles darkly. <strong>"That's how it should be, right?"</strong></p><p>"Wh-What're you saying?"</p><p><strong>"Yukiko's sooo good looking... sooo fair-skinned... sooo feminine... She's the one all the guys drool over. When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy... Man, did I get a charge out of that."</strong> The shadow's face twists. <strong>"Yukiko knows the score. She can't do anything if I'm not around. I'm better than her... Much, much, better!"</strong></p><p>It occurs to Souji now that having to encounter all of his friend's shadows again is going to be much worse than it was the first time around.</p><p>"No! I've never thought that!" Chie's fists clench.</p><p>Part of it is all of these people are his friends now- his best friends. He would do anything for them, so having to stand back and watch them get hurt like this hurts him too.</p><p>"Wh-What're we gonna do?" Yosuke looks like he's starting to panic.</p><p>"We'll protect Chie." The answer is obvious. It isn't even a question, really.</p><p>Another part of it is the time travel. He's already seen Chie and Yukiko work through a lot of their original problems, and come out better for it, so seeing them having to start over is discouraging.</p><p>"N-No, don't come near me! Don't look at me!" Chie holds her arms in front of her face.</p><p>"Chie, calm down!" Yosuke waves his own arms frantically.</p><p>Seeing them struggling with self doubt and self hatred like this is worse now that he knows them, and has seen what they can be. He trusts them with his life, but they don't even know him.</p><p>"No... No, this isn't me!"</p><p>Yosuke's eyes widen. "W-Wait, stupid! Don't say anything else like that!"</p><p>And having to witness the things they hate most about themselves against their will feels almost like a betrayal of their trust.</p><p><strong>"I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person... I'm pathetic. But Yukiko... She depends on me..."</strong> The shadow gives another cruel chuckle. <strong>"That's why she's my friend... I'll never loosen my grip on her. She's too important to me."</strong></p><p>"No... That is not how I think of her..." Chie is shaking her head.</p><p>Souji slips his free hand into his pocket.</p><p><strong>"So you're just gonna turn your back and deny me again?"</strong> Chie's Shadow grins for a moment before sneering. <strong>"But things are different now. When the time comes... I'll be the one left standing. You wont mind, right? I'm still you!"</strong></p><p>"Shut up! You're..."</p><p>Souji starts charging the pinwheel hidden in his hand.</p><p>"Chie, no!" Yosuke tries to stop what's about to happen.</p><p>"You're not me!"</p><hr/><p>Chie's shadow erupts into darkness, and Chie is knocked to the ground.</p><p>"Chie!" Yosuke runs forward, Souji follows and hurls his pinwheel at the shadow as the rolling darkness disperses. The shadow shrieks and collapses just as it forms.</p><p>"It's weak to Garu!" Teddie makes sure they know.</p><p>"Yosuke, get her clear!" Souji casts Rakukaja to raise his defense, then plants himself between Chie's shadow and his friends.</p><p>"Got it!" Souji doesn't look, but presumably Yosuke's dragging Chie to safety.</p><p><strong>"Urgh... You little...!"</strong> The shadow hauls itself back up, and Souji cringes a little at it's form. True Shadows are usually a little disturbing, and this one is no different. It's a yellow-clad dominatrix, sitting atop a tower of faceless girls in Yasogami uniforms. It has a cape of black hair with sharp ends and writhes like a living thing. Souji switches to Angel and throws out a Garu, knocking it over again.</p><p>Yosuke runs back up to the fight. "You ready for this?!" He grins at Souji.</p><p>"Hell yeah!" Souji charges forward, Yosuke at his side.</p><p>"Good answer! Raaahhhh!" They deal a sizable amount of damage to Shadow Chie before it gets up and they're forced back.</p><p><strong>"Feh..."</strong> Green light shimmers around the shadow. <strong>"Just <em>try</em> to do that again. I <em>dare</em> you!"</strong></p><p>"It's covered it's weakness to Garu!" Teddie's voice calls out from the edge of the room. "It won't last very long, but right now it resists wind magic!"</p><p>Yosuke grumbles. "Great. Now what?"</p><p>Souji switches to Izanagi and throws out a Zio, which does some damage. "Just-" He gets cut off by Shadow Chie.</p><p><strong>"Kneel before me!"</strong> Lightning lances out at Souji, who just grunts as Izanagi resists it. He's about to continue zapping the shadow right back, but Yosuke cries out in pain behind him. Souji whirls around at the sound, just in time to see the shadow's hair lunge towards an off-balance Yosuke. Jiraiya swoops in to take the worst of the hit, but Yosuke still gets knocked to the ground as Jiraiya dissolves into static.</p><p>Souji sends Izanagi to distract the shadow as best he can and dashes over to Yosuke, who is a bit out of it. "C'mon, partner. Get back up, I need you here." Souji grabs Yosuke's arm and hauls him to his feet.</p><p>"Hate electricity." Yosuke scowls and shakes his head to clear it.</p><p>"Don't let Izanagi hear you say that." Souji quips. "Summon Jiraiya and heal yourself, then use Sukukaja on yourself so you can dodge that stuff." Souji suddenly feels the phantom pain that means his persona has been hurt, and hisses. "Izanagi needs help."</p><p>Souji turns and runs back towards the fight, where Izanagi is getting constricted by Shadow Chie's hair. <strong>"Let's see how long you can withstand <em>this!"</em></strong> The shadow starts laughing at Izanagi's distress. <strong>"Ahahaha! Wha- Hey!"</strong> Izanagi disappears and Angel starts casting Garu. Jiraiya flies in from the side and does the same. <strong>"Ugh, now the smiley one is back-"</strong>  Jiraiya hits her with Garu. <strong>"Argh!"</strong> The shadow collapses, it's wind resistance having reverted.</p><p>"It's weak to Garu again!" Teddie points out.</p><p>"Sweet!" Yosuke runs back in, feet lit up with Sukukaja. He and Souji run in and deal some damage while the shadow is down, before quickly backing off as it gets up.</p><p>
  <strong>"Are you guys idiots?! Why are you protecting her like that?! She's just a grubby bitch!"</strong>
</p><p>Souji growls. "She's more than that! She's our friend!" Angel throws another Garu.</p><p>"What he said!" Yosuke dodges another Mazio.</p><p><strong>"But that doesn't make any sense! She doesn't <em>act</em> like a friend!"</strong> Another green wall goes up. <strong>"Hmph. Maybe you need a little more pain to understand."</strong></p><p>Mazio rolls towards them again, Souji quickly switches to Izanagi, and Yosuke manages to dodge again thanks to Sukukaja. <strong>"Just die already!"</strong> The shadow screams at them in frustration.</p><p>"That was so cooool, Yosuke!" Teddie is hopping up and down next to a confused, bleary-eyed Chie. "Keep it up!"</p><p>Souji allows himself a small smile as Izanagi throws yet another Zio at the shadow.<strong> "Rgh!"</strong> It growls at him as the tower of girls shudders under it's weight.<strong> "Is that little bear mascot your cheer leader? You seem awfully fond of it."</strong> Electricity builds up slightly longer than normal and Souji braces himself. Mazio blasts out, but something seems different-</p><p>"Shit!"</p><p>Souji hears Yosuke's shout and turns in time to see him dive <em>into</em> the electric attack. Why did he-?! Teddie and Chie are just behind him, looking shocked and horrified. ...Oh.</p><p>He notices the green wall finally fall out of the corner of his eye. "ANGEL!" Garu lashes out and finally knocks the shadow over for good. It shrieks and begins to disintegrate.</p><hr/><p>Souji barely waits long enough to confirm the shadow is defeated. He sprints over to where Yosuke is crumpled on the ground and slides in to kneel next to him. Teddie runs up with Chie as Souji digs through his pockets and pulls out a Revival Bead. "C'mon, c'mon..." He holds the bead over Yosuke and focuses. The bead starts glowing blue and shatters as Souji activates the item.</p><p>Healing light surrounds Yosuke for a moment, then he jerks up and starts gasping and coughing. "Aaagh- <em>*cough*</em> shit-" He looks around frantically and relaxes slightly when he sees everyone crowded around him looking worried. "I'm guessing the shadow is down then...?" Yosuke's still clutching his chest and wincing.</p><p>"Yeah." Souji switches to Pixie and casts Dia with the last of his energy. "You were taking the attack for these two, right?"</p><p>Yosuke sighs and lets his arm drop from his side as the healing magic rolls over him. "Yeah, I saw there were two extra bolts headed for them..."</p><p>Souji lets out a shaky breath. "Okay." Revival items and spells are pretty reliable, but it always makes his heart stop when things get bad enough that they're necessary. When one teammate goes down in the middle of a fight, it usually means the whole team is in very deep trouble. Souji's been through enough full team wipeouts to know.</p><p>"...You okay there, partner?" Yosuke's still sitting on the ground next to him, looking worried.</p><p>"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm okay." Souji stands up and offers his hand to Yosuke. "It just scares me to death every time I see someone go down like that..." He pulls Yosuke to his feet. "Anyway... Chie, there's something you need to do."</p><p>"Huh? Me?!" Chie startles when she's addressed. Souji directs her attention to her shadow, which is still standing patiently a few meters away. She goes rigid when she sees it. "...What's the matter...? Got nothing to say anymore?" Her voice trembles slightly.</p><p>Yosuke speaks up. "Stop it, Chie. It's alright."</p><p>"B-But..." Chie looks back at them, uncertain.</p><p>"That may be a part of you, but you're also much more than that." Souji notices Teddie is holding the back of his jacket. Souji quietly puts an arm around him and gently rubs the trembling bear's back.</p><p>"B-but I..." She glances back at her shadow and cringes.</p><p>"He's right... I went through the same thing." Yosuke shifts in place a bit. "So I can understand, I mean... Everyone has a side like this..."</p><p>Chie looks down and thinks about it for a moment, before turning and slowly approaching her shadow. "Yeah..." She sighs. "I kinda get it now. You are me... A side of me I couldn't forgive... That I tried to ignore..." Chie stands up a little straighter, shoulders set in determination. "But you still exist. You're a part of me..." Her shadow nods, and in a flash of blue light, reforms into a female samurai, dressed in yellow and wielding a double sided naginata. "Tomoe..." Chie murmurs to herself.</p><p>Yosuke walks up to talk to Chie. Souji takes a moment to talk to Teddie. "Hey, Ted. You alright?" He says quietly.</p><p>Teddie looks up at him with wide eyes. "...I was so scared, sensei..."</p><p>"When that electric attack was headed for you?"</p><p>"And when Yosuke got hurt to protect us..." Teddie looks down. "...I couldn't do anything to help him..."</p><p>Souji sighs and pats his head. "...Would it help if you had some healing items you could use on us? I don't want to put you in danger..."</p><p>"...That might help." Teddie says softly.</p><p>"H-Hey! Chie!" They turn to see Yosuke fussing over Chie, who has just fallen to her knees.</p><p>"I'm okay... Just a little tired..."</p><p>Yosuke looks doubtful. "You don't look okay at all... But I bet you can use the same power we have now."</p><p>"Huh...?" Chie looks lost. Yosuke notices this and looks at Souji.</p><p>"Hey, what should we do?"</p><p>"We need to head back for now." Souji says firmly. "All of us are in rough shape."</p><p>"All right." Yosuke glances around the room. "Let's head back to the entrance, then. It's dangerous around here."</p><p>"I-I never said I needed a break!" Chie protests and tries to get to her feet. "I... can still keep going..."</p><p>Teddie runs in front of her and gestures placatingly. "Don't overdo it...!"</p><p>"It's not that we don't think you can." Yosuke reassures her. "It's just, we have to save Yukiko-san, no matter what. Now that you have a Persona, you can fight with us, so we need you to be at full strength."</p><p>"But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she?!" Chie begins to argue with Yosuke and Teddie, and they try to explain how the TV World and the fog works. She still really doesn't want to leave.</p><p>"Then you tell me how much further we gotta go to reach Yukiko-san!" Yosuke finally snaps at Chie.</p><p>"Th-That's...!"</p><p>"You don't know what's up ahead. The enemies might be even stronger! If we push ourselves too hard and get wiped out, who'll save Yukiko-san then?!" Yosuke clenches his fists. "We can't fail, no matter what... Am I wrong?"</p><p>Chie finally falls silent and considers it. "...Alright." She finally hauls herself to her feet using Teddie as a lever. ...Souji really needs to have a talk to her and Yosuke about their treatment of Teddie.</p><p>They all turn and start to walk out together. "I'm sorry about before... I shouldn't have rushed in like that by myself..." Chie looks contrite.</p><p>Souji gives her a small smile. "Let's make sure to go together next time." She nods.</p><p>"No worries. We're definitely gonna save Yukiko-san, right?" Yosuke gives her a reassuring grin.</p><p>"...Right!" Chie nods firmly.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Why are heatwaves a thing? I hate having sweaty hands, it makes my keyboard all gross...</p><p>I'm happy with how this one turned out. Taking my time seems to be worth it, go figure.</p><p>I think Shadow fights are probably going to be pretty work intensive chapters, judging by this one and Yosuke's Shadow fight. Again, go figure. I had to improvise a couple of things when I realized that, unlike the ninja frog jockey, the dominatrix bannahead probably isn't very mobile. Can you imagine the girl tower staggering slowly after the boys as they run away? ....That actually sounds kinda funny, maybe I should have done that.</p><p>The old Chapter 17 has been deleted, because I hated it. The new Chapter 17 is the old Chapter 18, and has been modified to fill in the gaps.</p><p>Also, holy crud, Persona 3's soundtrack is amazing and different from what I was expecting when I looked it up. I haven't played it yet, but I have the feeling it's going to absolutely <em>destroy</em> me when I do.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Leader By Default</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji is re-elected as team leader and things wind down after the fight against Chie's shadow.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Sunday, April 17</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>After School</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>On their way back to the TV entrance, Souji notices Chie dragging her feet a bit. "You doing okay, Chie?"</p><p>"Huh? Oh... I'm okay..."</p><p>She's clearly not okay, but it's not a huge surprise. Between stress over Yukiko, facing her shadow, getting a persona, and spending this much time in the TV World-</p><p>"Oh!" Yosuke slaps a hand to his forehead. "You don't have a pair of glasses yet! No wonder you look dead on your feet..."</p><p>"Glasses?" Chie looks between Souji and Yosuke. "Huh... Why <em>do</em> you guys have glasses on?"</p><p>"They let us see through all the fog." Yosuke turns and looks back at Teddie. "Hey Ted, you got another pair of glasses Chie could use?"</p><p>"I'm actually working on a pair right now!" Teddie's tongue is sticking out in concentration. He's looking down at something hidden in his paws. "Give me just a little longer, and Chie-chan will have her very own pair of beary good glasses!"</p><p>"I'm sure we're all beary des-bear-ate to see them." Souji remarks.</p><p>Yosuke and Chie groan, but Teddie looks up at him and beams. "I couldn't ask for a bear-ter sensei!"</p><p>Souji chuckles and ruffles Teddie's fur.</p><hr/><p>Yosuke rubs at his side with a slight grimace as they approach the entrance. That electricity really did a number on him... His skins still feels raw and tingly where he was hit, especially where he took that double hit meant for Chie and Ted. He was up and about now thanks to<em> healing magic</em> (which is still <em>nuts</em>), but he should probably check for lingering injuries when he gets home. He catches Souji looking away quickly as he lets his arm drop back to his side. Crap, Souji probably noticed him poking at his injury. Now he's going to be worried...</p><p>...It's a strangely foreign feeling. Having someone worried about him. Yosuke saw the look on Souji's face when he first woke up, full of anxiety and relief. It had startled him a bit to see that look on the face of someone who had spent most of the day making fun of him.</p><p><em>'It just scares me to death every time I see someone go down like that...'</em> What a mildly ominous comment. Almost like this was a common thing. For people to almost <em>die</em> in front of him.</p><p>...It's going to become a relatively common thing if they keep doing this, isn't it?</p><p>Teddie's voice snaps Yosuke out of his thoughts. "...And... Ta-da! One pair of glasses for one pretty girl!" Ted dramatically flourishes a pair of yellow glasses before holding them out to Chie.</p><p>Yosuke watches her put them on and look around. "Huh... They really do let you see through the fog..."</p><p>Souji taps his own pair of glasses. "They also seem to keep us from getting sick as quickly."</p><p>"I know we have to stop for today, but I'll be back with these puppies!" Chie takes a moment to glare at them. "You guys better not come here without me, got it?!"</p><p>"Yeah. Same goes for you." Yosuke looks at Chie pointedly. "This place is way too dangerous to go alone. Let's promise each other, no one goes in by themselves. We have to work together if we want to solve this case and save Yukiko-san, right?" Souji and Chie nod along, and Yosuke relaxes slightly. He realizes in the back of his head that he'd been half-way expecting someone to interject and tell him he was an idiot. You know. Like usual. "...Alright. So, from tomorrow on, we'll try and come here as much as we can after school. And that includes days off." Yosuke turns to face Souji. "By the way, Souji... Would you mind being our leader?"</p><p>Souji blinks and straightens up when he realizes Yosuke is addressing him. "Huh?" ...Was he not paying attention or...?</p><p>"Would you mind being the leader." Yosuke repeats, just in case, before elaborating. "You obviously have experience in this stuff, and you've kinda been calling the shots already, so..." Souji is just kind of staring at him blankly. Yosuke can't identify his expression, but the silence is weirding him out. "...I'm cool playing second banana." Yosuke blurts out without thinking, then kicks himself mentally. 'Second banana'. No wonder people don't take him seriously.</p><p>Souji snorts out loud and raises a hand to his mouth. His eyes are crinkling in amusement. Yosuke would be a bit miffed he was being laughed at again, but he's mostly just relieved that Souji isn't impersonating a statue anymore. Souji shifts on his feet before straightening up again. "...Yeah. If you're sure you want me to."</p><p>"For sure." Yosuke shoots Souji what he hopes is a reassuring grin. "You kept your cool while the rest of us were freaking out. We all got out in one piece 'cause of you." Yosuke mentally kicks himself again when Souji winces slightly.</p><p>"Yeah, and also thanks to you taking a Mazio to the face." Souji looks away. "That... shouldn't have had to happen." He mumbles the last bit. Yosuke frowns and is about to respond when Chie interrupts.</p><p>"Hey, don't blame yourself for that!" Chie puts her hands on her hips. "Yeah, it sucks that it happened, but you were on top of the situation almost immediately. Yosuke was barely down for even a minute!" This is news to Yosuke. He had assumed he'd been out for a bit longer than that.</p><p>Teddie nods vigorously in agreement. "I bearly even realized what happened by the time Yosuke was waking up!"</p><p>"Look." Chie sighs and folds her arms. "It's either you, me, or Yosuke, and frankly I don't trust either of us to make smart decisions."</p><p>Souji hangs his head and huffs out a half-sigh, half-laugh. "Okay. I guess I'm the leader, then." He looks up at them with a resigned smile. Yosuke grins and gives him a thumbs up.</p><hr/><p>Souji lets himself fall back onto the grass of the river bank with a whoosh of exhaled breath. He was wandering town a bit after parting ways with the others. Yosuke going down right at the end of the fight rattled him a bit, and he needs some time to sort himself out and make sure he's okay before heading home.</p><p>He lies back in the grass and focuses on the sound of rustling plants and gurgling water. He isn't used to shadows attacking the support members like Chie's shadow did. Normal shadows are typically far more interested in hitting the nearest moving target to bother with them, and they usually kept True Shadows occupied enough that they couldn't spare the attention. There had been a few unlucky times it happened, that's why he always had a combat capable team member hang back with Rise, just in case any stragglers got ideas. There had been a couple of times a quick shadow had slipped past the front lines only to find an irate Kanji wielding a folding chair. </p><p>Souji smiles at a memory of frantically rushing back to check on his two kohai- and finding Kanji hitting a pile of dissolving shadow goop while Rise stood behind him watching awkwardly.</p><p>
  <em>'Um, Kanji-kun... I think it's dead already.'</em>
</p><p>
  <em>'It's dead when I say it is! *whack!*'</em>
</p><p>They'd laughed in relief at Kanji's antics and poked fun at him the rest of the day. 'I think it's dead already / It's dead when I say it is' became a bit of a running joke whenever someone on the team went a little overboard.</p><p>...They don't remember that anymore, though. The close calls, the inside jokes- they don't remember each other, much less<em> him-</em></p><p>Suddenly Souji's throat constricts and he chokes as he tries to inhale. He jerks up from where he'd been laying on the grass and clutches at his shirt with one hand. His other hand digs into the grass and dirt beside him, leaving little furrows in the ground. He curls in on himself as he struggles to breathe, but it feels like his chest is caving in, like he's drowning, it <em>feels like when Nanako died-</em></p><p>Grief. He's pretty sure this is grief. Souji drags in a deep, shuddering breath and holds it, before letting it out explosively. He squeezes his eyes shut, the mid afternoon floodplain suddenly feels too bright. He feels so alone and overwhelmed, he's lost so much, there's way too much for him to process... </p><p>Souji drags a hand over his face. He feels it leave little bits of dirt and grass on his skin. He pulls his hand away and looks at it. Looks at the grass stains dragging across his hand, the dirt caught underneath his fingernails. The skin between his thumb and pointer finger is red and sore, probably from wielding his katana today. There used to be callouses there. ...There's an ant crawling on him. He watches it.</p><p>Souji sits on the river bank and watches an ant crawl across his hand for awhile, as the Samegawa River murmurs steadily (and reliably) in the background.</p><hr/><p>"Welcome back!" Nanako waves from her spot by the TV. </p><p>Souji waves back absentmindedly as he kicks his shoes off. "Hey Nanako." He tries to stifle a yawn. Running around in the TV and all these dastardly <em>emotions</em> that keep sneaking up on him have left him feeling a bit worn out. He can't wait till things slow down again. He's barely been back a week and he already needs a vacation.</p><p>"...You look tired." Nanako is still looking at him.</p><p>Souji smiles at her mischievously. "Me? Pft. I'm <em>never</em> tired." She tilts her head and squints at him suspiciously. "...Okay, I'm might be a <em>l</em><em>ittle</em> bit tired. Just a little." He holds his thumb and pointer finger and inch apart from each other to indicate just how little his tiredness is.</p><p>Nanako looks like she's trying not to smile. Success. "...Okay. But make sure you get enough sleep!" She puts her hands on her hips sternly.</p><p>"I will." Souji promises her. He wanders over to the kitchen table and pokes absently at the pile of papers. It looks like the local newspaper Dojima is always reading (when he's home), but underneath there's something else.</p><p>Souji raises an eyebrow as he pulls out the paper beneath the newspaper. It's another newspaper, but not local. The thing that catches Souji's eye is the article the paper is opened to. "<span class="u">The Detective Prince Cracks Yet Another Case!</span>" There's a picture of Naoto walking behind two cops escorting a man in handcuffs. It's strange seeing her through the lens of a newspaper article, it feels far removed from the actual person he'd come to know last year. Next year. Whatever.</p><p>The fact that this article was sitting on the table means that Dojima is researching Naoto, which means she's probably either already on the case or being considered. The date on the newspaper is very recent, so she might be just finishing up that case. Which would leave her open to take a new case soon...</p><p>Souji is broken out of his musing by the front door opening. Souji turns to look as Dojima shuffles in. "I'm home."</p><p>"Dad, you're home!" Nanako leaps up runs over to give Dojima a hug.</p><p>"Yep, I- oof! Haha, good to see you too, Nanako." He ruffles her hair and gives her a tired smile. He glances up and spots Souji setting down the newspaper. "Hey. What are you up to?" Dojima raises an eyebrow, and Souji can sense his uncle's detective mode activate.</p><p>"I just noticed the article headline and was curious. I've heard of the Detective Prince in passing, but I don't actually know much about him." Whoops, almost forgot to use male pronouns. "...Celebrity stuff tends to fly over my head." Souji glances back at the newspaper he just set down.</p><p>"I see. He's actually from nearby, the Shirogane Estate is just outside of town." Dojima sighs and rubs the back of his head. "...He's started pestering us to get assigned to the case. I'm not super thrilled about the attention that'll bring us, but the decision isn't mine to make..." Dojima sighs again.</p><p>"Hmm." Souji can't really think of a response to that.</p><hr/><p>Dojima watches his nephew eat out of the corner of his eye. It's been week since the kid showed up, and what a week it's been. Two murders and now another disappearance. The timing couldn't have been worse, he's barely been home half the days Souji's been here.</p><p>Souji pauses eating for a moment to stifle a yawn. Poor kid's been half dead, too. Whatever he got sick with, it seems like it's lingering. Is this normal for him or did the move to Inaba really mess him up that badly? Dojima suddenly has to grit his teeth against a jaw cracking yawn of his own. He's not really one to talk about overworking oneself, but he should probably check on his nephew...</p><p>"Hey, kid." Dojima sets his chopsticks down as he turns to his nephew. "You doing okay? You've been under the weather all week."</p><p>Souji sits up and blinks at him a little blearily. "Yeah. It's just been... a lot to adjust to all at once. A lot to keep track of." Souji smiles tiredly. "I don't think I was quite mentally prepared for..." Souji trails off and covers his mouth as another yawn hits him. Dojima has to stifle his own yawn.</p><p>Soft giggles come from the other side of the table. "You keep making each other yawn." Nanako giggles at them a bit more before she starts yawning herself. "And now you're making me yawn!" Souji starts chuckling along with her.</p><p>"Sorry, Nanako. I guess we're all yawn buddies now." Souji keeps laughing softly, with a fond look on his face.</p><p>Dojima surprises himself when he joins in the laughter. "Then I guess we'd all better finish eating so we can all get enough sleep tonight."</p><hr/><p>Souji doesn't get much sleep that night. </p><p>His mind won't stop <em>thinking</em>. There's just so much relying on him, so many things that only he knows and can keep track of...</p><p>He's been appointed leader again, despite his lowkey panic attack when Yosuke asked him. So its up to him to give his team their best shot at success. Try to keep them from getting killed, trying to keep them on the right track in the investigation...</p><p>Gods, the investigation. That's what he came back to fix if you boil it down. But he's not an investigator, not by a long shot. Yosuke was really the main investigation leader until Naoto showed up. Souji mostly focused his effort on organizing the rescue missions- it was like herding cats sometimes, seriously. But regarding the investigation, he was never the one making breakthroughs or connecting the dots. So where does he even start trying to correct where they went wrong? Not to mention he doesn't want to derail the timeline too much...</p><p>He glares at his ceiling. The alarm clock reads 1:07am. He's been trying to sleep for a few hours now, and it's not working. He glances at his phone. ...No, Yosuke's probably sleeping right now.</p><p>Souji sighs, rolls out of bed, and grabs some paper. If he can't sleep he'll make origami cranes instead.</p><hr/><p>On the other side of town, Yosuke is not sleeping. He's staring into his fridge instead. All of his bruises and other assorted injuries made it impossible for him to fall asleep comfortably. Not to mention every little sound is making him jumpy. He glances around the empty kitchen before poking at his side where the lightning hit him. He lets out a soft hiss. </p><p>...Suddenly it fully sinks in that he's just committed most of his free time to fighting nightmare monsters with magic. It's for a good cause- but still. Mortal peril. Yosuke lets his head fall forward to rest on the side of the fridge. He takes a breath and screams softly to himself for a moment as the fridge light illuminates the room.</p><p>The kitchen is silent. A car rumbles down the adjacent street. The refrigerator starts to hum as it cools down more air to replace the air Yosuke is letting out by holding the door open.</p><p>He grabs a tub of ice cream and retreats to his room.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey, lookit that, we finally finished the first week of Persona 4. Only ~49 left to go. :|</p><p>Writing this is making me realize just how crazy and stressful the first week of Persona 4 would be in real life. You're being thrown into an entirely new environment with very little time to adjust. You start school the day after you move in, there's a serial murderer on the loose, and you have multiple heavily emotional near-death experiences that you can't tell anyone about. All while pretending to be a stable, functional human being. Add in the year of trauma he can't talk about and the constant tightrope act, and I'd be pretty stressed if I were Souji. Hopefully he'll find someone he can talk about it with soon.</p><p>I was yawning pretty much constantly through the yawn buddies scene. I guess that's what I get for writing it early in the morning</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. I-Spy: Security Camera Edition</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Souji takes Nanako to Junes and gives her the grand tour while Yosuke and Chie go on a supply run. Yosuke is a bit alarmed by Souji's choice of games to play with Nanako.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Monday, April 18</strong> </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Morning</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>Souji wakes up surrounded by paper cranes. This is nothing new to him.</p><hr/><p>Yosuke grimaces and tries not to rub at his aching side as he walks to his classroom. Healing magic is great and all, but it would be even more great if he didn't still feel like he spent yesterday crashing his bike into a wall. Probably doesn't help that he only got a few hours of sleep last night. Whatever. He's not going to let himself drag down the rest of the team. He makes it to the classroom with quite a bit of time to spare.</p><p>"You're here early." Oh crap, Souji's already here.</p><p>Yosuke quickly pulls down his headphones and plasters a smile onto his face. "Right back at ya. What are you doing here so early?"</p><p>Souji rolls his eyes. "Ugh. Morooka wanted me to come in early for something? Turns out he just wanted to give me a school jersey." Souji waves a plastic wrapped jersey and lets it flop around. "It feels like way more effort than was necessary to deliver an article of clothing."</p><p>"Weird." Yosuke sits on his desk, 'cause he really doesn't feel like standing right now. He has to suppress a wince from one of his many bruises. "...I wonder how Chie's doing. Too much stuff happened yesterday."</p><p>"Too much stuff happened this <em>week</em>." Souji points out. "It's barely been a week since school started."</p><p>Yosuke blinks in realization. "...Oh geez, you're right. No wonder I feel like-" He cuts himself off. What happened to not dragging the group down?! Now Souji's looking at him all concerned again...</p><p>"...Feel like what?"</p><p>Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Stressed the heck out. "Ah well, you know. I'm just kind of adjusting to everything still." Yosuke hides behind a sheepish smile.</p><p>Souji examines him carefully for a moment, and Yosuke is certain Souji can tell how stressed he is. Which is almost annoying- Yosuke's been stuffing his feelings behind fake smiles for years, and no one else ever seemed to notice. Is it normal for someone you just met to be able to see right through you like that? Maybe Souji's just like that. Maybe no one else has ever bothered to pay attention.</p><p>Well, that's not entirely true. Saki always seemed to notice when he was getting overwhelmed...</p><p>Whatever, that isn't important right now.</p><p>Souji looks like he's about to say something, but the classroom door opens and Chie walks into the room. She seems a bit anxious, but tries to look nonchalant as she walks over. "Oh. Mornin'."</p><p>"Hey. You okay?" Yosuke asks quietly.</p><p>"Mmhmm." She looks anywhere except at Yosuke and Souji and shifts uncomfortably. "Um... Thanks for everything yesterday. It's kinda embarrassing, ya know?"</p><p>"Don't sweat it."</p><p>Chie just looks more agitated. "No, Yosuke, you jumped in front of a literal <em>bolt of lightning</em> for me! And after the way I treated you, and what that thing said... I..." Chie looks like she might be about to start crying.</p><p>Yosuke gestures for her to calm down and thinks frantically. This kind of conversation isn't his strong suit. "Hey, it's okay." Why did he fight so hard for Chie? "Seriously, I... I get it. My shadow said some pretty crappy stuff too, but Souji still stood up for me. I didn't deserve to die like that, and neither did you."</p><p>"Yosuke..." Chie's eyes water, but she seems to be calming down.</p><p>After a few moments of silence, Souji speaks up. "Can you guys meet up on the roof during lunch? We need to talk about what we're doing next. Right now it's almost time for class to start."</p><p>Yosuke glances quickly up at the clock and jumps to his feet when he sees there's only a couple minutes left before class. "Oh crap, I still have to use the bathroom!" He hears Souji chuckle quietly as he darts out the door.</p><hr/><p>Chie follows behind Souji and Yosuke on their way out of school, arms folded and expression grumpy. Souji had insisted on taking a day off to hang out with his cousin, which Chie begrudgingly admits makes sense. The poor guy just arrived in Inaba barely a week ago, and he's been dragged into trouble almost every day he's been here. But Yukiko's still trapped all alone in that castle! Souji told them that physics don't quite work the same in TV land, (apparently he's done this sort of thing before and no one told her???) so Yukiko isn't in danger of starving to death, but still. Chie could barely pay attention in class today. If she has to sit around NOT saving Yukiko for much longer, she's going to explode.</p><p>Suddenly Souji comes to a stop some distance from the school and turns to face them. "Okay. I know this isn't... the most ideal way to spend today. I made a commitment to spend the day with Nanako before I realized the consequences." He glances a away for a moment. "So... I was thinking maybe you guys could do some of the prep work for the rescue mission tomorrow while I hang out with her, and we can meet up at the Junes food court later today?" He pulls out a piece of paper. "I've got a list of stuff we could use... well, more of a guide, really. I have some money from what the shadows dropped yesterday, I was thinking it should go towards armor and healing items..."</p><p>Chie perks up a bit. She'd much rather be knocking heads in the castle, but this is better than nothing. "So, we go on a supply run while you hang out with your cousin a bit? That sounds good! I know a great place for armor and weapons and stuff!"</p><p>Souji's pensive expression lightens. "Great. Just remember we have really limited funds right now. I'd focus first on armor then on SP recovery items if you can find any..." He hands the paper and a stack of bills to Yosuke. "...I'm trusting you two to not make some sort of scene and get arrested or banned from anywhere. Got it?"</p><p>Yosuke gives Souji an incredulous look. "...Dude, what sort of teammates did you have? You keep mentioning this kind of thing like it's happened before."</p><p>Souji snorts in surprise and covers his mouth to hide a smile. "...I guess you could say that." He looks like he's in on some kind of joke. At least Yosuke looks just as lost as Chie feels. "Anyway, you guys think you can handle the supply run?"</p><p>Yosuke glances over the list in his hand and nods. "Yeah, I think we can handle this."</p><p>"Great. I'll meet you at the food court with Nanako later then. Remember not to go flailing weapons around in public-"</p><p>"I won't! Jeez, I'm not <em>that </em>bad!"</p><hr/><p>"So... Souji Seta. What's up with him?" Chie turns to look at Yosuke as they walk towards the shopping district. The question's been gnawing at her since lunch, when Yosuke mentioned off-handedly that Souji has dealt with all this weird stuff before.</p><p>"Huh?" Yosuke looks up from the list Souji gave him.</p><p>"Y'know. You guys mentioned at lunch that he has experience doing this stuff-" Chie gestures to indicate Personas and Shadows and magic and things- "So what exactly does that mean? What was he doing? You mentioned he was on a team?"</p><p>"Ah." Yosuke winces and shrugs. "I don't actually know that much, he really doesn't like talking about it, whatever it is. I tried asking but he was pretty vague."</p><p>"Okay, but what <em>did</em> he tell you?"</p><p>"Like I said, not much. Just that he was on a team that fought shadows and that his old teammates are 'unavailable'" Yosuke makes finger quotes and grimaces a little.</p><p>"Unavailable?" Chie frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"</p><p>"Specifically, he said it's not possible for any of them to be the killer, or for them to help us. He also mentioned something about it not ending well last time. Which is, uh..." Yosuke trails off with an uncomfortable shrug.</p><p>"Wait..." Horror dawns on Chie and she stops walking to look at him. "Do you think they're dead or something?!"</p><p>"Or something. It's the obvious explanation, but if that's what happened, I don't really want to be the one to bring it up." Yosuke sighs and keeps walking.</p><p>"But..." Chie trails off. "He seems so... calm. He doesn't seem like someone who..."</p><p>"I dunno Chie. We've only known him for a week. It's been a crazy week, but still." Yosuke sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "He obviously hasn't told us everything about himself, but aside from that, he hasn't given me any reason not to trust him, so I'm letting it go for now."</p><p>Chie's head is swirling with questions and worry. Honestly, Souji struck her as kind of boring and maybe a little quirky, not someone who's fought life and death battles against monsters and possibly seen people die.</p><p>"So, you said you knew where to get armor and weapons?" Yosuke pulls her out of her thoughts.</p><p>Chie looks up and realizes they've arrived at the shopping district. "Oh yeah! Daidara's, he's this metal smith that makes weapons and stuff as art? It doesn't make a ton of sense to me, but we should try there."</p><p>Yosuke looks dubious for a moment. "Uh... will he be okay selling weapons to minors...?"</p><p>It turns out Daidara was more than willing to sell weapons to minors.</p><hr/><p>Souji knew the layout of Junes very well. It came from a year of meeting with his friends in the food court, smuggling weapons into the electronics department, smuggling friends out of the electronics department, and being best friends with the manager's son. It meant that he was able to give Nanako the grand tour, including the best and most fun hiding places.</p><p>Souji turns in a slow circle in the middle of a section of clothes. Muffled giggling comes from a particular circular rack. He slowly walks towards it, a smile creeping up on his face. The giggling intensifies. He reaches forward to slowly and deliberately part the clothes on the rack in front of him. There's a Junes brand t-shirt covering the source of the giggling. Souji pulls it off and grins. "Fancy meeting you here."</p><p>"You found me!" Nanako giggles some more and crawls out of the clothes. Souji hangs the t-shirt back up. "You sure know a lot about Junes."</p><p>Souji rubs his head sheepishly. "I guess so. You wanna explore around here a bit more or head up to the food court?"</p><p>"Hmm... Let's go to the food court!" Nanako grabs his hand and drags him towards the elevators.</p><hr/><p>When Yosuke and Chie finally catch up to them, Souji and Nanako are already sitting at a table. "I spy..." Souji looks around the food court and spots them heading over. "I spy a couple of my friends. Hey guys!" He waves cheerfully as Nanako turns around to look at them. "Nanako, this is Yosuke Hanamura and Chie Satonaka. They're in the same class as me in school. Guys, this is my cousin Nanako Dojima."</p><p>"Hi, Nanako-chan!" Chie sits down at the table and gives a little wave. "It's nice to meet you!"</p><p>Nanako looks up at them shyly. "...hello."</p><p>Yosuke sets down the bag of TV World supplies they just bought and falls into his chair with a woosh of exhaled breath. "Man, this stuff is heavy. Maybe I can store some of it in my employee locker..." He shakes his head and looks up at Souji's little cousin with a grin. "Hey Nanako-chan! You enjoying Junes?"</p><p>Nanako's expression immediately lights up and begins describing the tour Souji gave her of the department store. Yosuke has already spent far more time than he'd like here, so he doesn't expect it to be all that interesting until she starts talking about the places Souji showed her that would make good hiding spots, or easily defendable spots in a zombie apocalypse. "The yard work section has shovels to hit the zombies with, but the grocery section has food!", she explains cheerfully. Yosuke raises an eyebrow at Souji, who just smiles mischievously and offers some of his own zombie survival opinions, which starts a whole conversation about the merits of department store shelving as a barricade.</p><p>Later, Yosuke tries not to look exasperated when Nanako describes playing hide-and-go-seek in the clothing section. It's a pain to clean up the displaced clothes, but he's not going to be the one to crush the childhood joy of hiding in circular racks of clothing. Honestly, he wishes he was still small enough to do so himself. Hiding from his dad used to be so much easier.</p><p>He tunes back into the conversation in time to hear... 'I-spy-the-security-cameras'? What? Yosuke starts feeling faintly alarmed as Nanako continues describing one of the games she played with Souji.</p><p>"I found four cameras in the electronics section!" Nanako announces proudly, swinging her feet back and forth under the table. "And there's a whole bunch next to the registers!"</p><p>Chie exchanges a bewildered glance with Yosuke. "That's... great, Nanako-chan!"</p><p>"So... why the security cameras?" Yosuke asks Souji cautiously.</p><p>Souji looks like he only just realized how suspicious sounding his 'tour' was. "Aha, uh... force of habit I guess?" He sees the look on Yosuke's face and starts scrambling for a less suspicious response. "I mean, its fun to spot them because they're meant to be fairly subtle, and also trying to find blind- er, I mean, trying to figure out why they're placed the way they are, is um, ...fun."</p><p>There's a moment of uncomfortable silence while Souji fidgets and Nanako looks confused.</p><p>"...Who wants drinks?" Souji stands up from the table. He barely waits for an affirmative before escaping on his errand.</p><p>Nanako looks uncertain for a second, like she wants to follow him, but then Chie bursts out laughing.</p><p>"Pfft! What was that about? It almost sounds like he's teaching Nanako-chan to be a ninja or something!" Chie giggles.</p><p>"Hey! Souji is super nice! Don't laugh at him." Nanako start to look upset.</p><p>"No no, I didn't mean it like that!" Chie clarifies. "It just sounds like you had a lot of fun today, I kinda wish I had a big brother like that..."</p><p>Nanako tilts her head. "...Big brother?"</p><p>"I mean..." Yosuke chuckles. "He <em>is</em> acting like one. I assume. I don't have any siblings, so I don't actually know."</p><p>"...Big bro..." Nanako repeats under her breath, like she's testing out the words. </p><p>"Hey, speaking of Souji, have you guys been doing anything cool since he moved in?" Yosuke asks. Maybe she'll give him a hint regarding Souji and whatever he has going on. The guy is inscrutable.</p><p>Nanako frowns down at the table and bites her lip. "...Not really. He's mostly been sick."</p><p>Chie raises her head in confusion. "Sick? Sick how?"</p><p>"Tired and... and sad." Nanako continues reluctantly. "A few days ago I thought he shouldn't go to school but he said there was something important he didn't want to miss."</p><p>"Huh." Yosuke frowns and exchanges a glance with Chie. "I don't remember noticing anything, but I've been a bit distracted lately. Is he still sick?"</p><p>Nanako thinks for a moment. "I think he's getting better. He hasn't needed medicine for a while." She pauses for a moment before brightening. "Oh! We watched Featherman together a couple nights ago! He brought some snacks home that we shared."</p><p>"Oh, you like Featherman Nanako-chan?" Chie grins and leans forward. "Who's your favorite character?"</p><p>"I really love Pink Argus! She's so cool but also super nice, and she's always there for her team!" Nanako starts gushing.</p><p>Chie's about to respond, but Yosuke cuts her off. "Wait, Chie, do you watch Featherman? What happened to your kung-fu movies?"</p><p>Chie glares at him. "I'm allowed to watch more than one genre! I've watched Featherman since I was little!" She turns back to Nanako eagerly. "So Nanako-chan, what did you think of the latest episode?"</p><p>Yosuke feels somewhat bemused (and a little left out) as Chie and Nanako launch into a highly enthusiastic discussion of the most recent Featherman episode. He's never really followed Featherman, so all the colors and bird species fly over his head. It's a relief when Souji finally gets back with an armful of drinks.</p><p>"Here you go." Souji slides a drink in front of Yosuke. Oh hey, it's his favorite brand. Sweet.</p><p>Nanako smiles as she accepts her drink. "Thanks big bro!"</p><p>Souji seems to choke for a moment. ...Is he tearing up? "No problem!" He squeaks.</p><p>Yosuke hides a grin behind his drink.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I kinda wrote myself and Souji into a corner by promising to spent the day with Nanako despite looming issues. Luckily I found a compromise. I'm trying to plan ahead more now.</p><p>I feel like I'm not integrating Teddie enough, but that's hard to do when he's living in a TV still.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Dungeon Diving Montage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Investigation Team pushes their way through Yukiko's castle over the course of the week.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Tuesday, April 19</strong> </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>After School</strong> </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>"It was a little awkward just sitting there buying out all the soda in the machine." Yosuke comments as he eyes one of the chain mail shirts they got from Daidara. "I don't think anyone was actually watching us, but I feel bad for anyone else who wanted a can of TaP."</p>
<p>"Well, they can deal with it! This is more important." Chie declares. "Are you going to put that on or what?"</p>
<p>Yosuke grumbles a bit and starts putting on his chain mail. "I wish this stuff wasn't so heavy. It feels harder to move like I want to..." He manages to poke his head out the correct hole. "...Hey, what do you think those two are doing?"</p>
<p>"Hmm? Huh. I'm not sure." Chie peers over at Souji and Teddie, who are looking at something in Souji's hands. "...Oh! I think that's one of those beads he used on you when you got knocked out last time."</p>
<p>"When I was knocked out... Like a healing item?" Yosuke wrestles his arms into the arm holes. "Maybe Souji's teaching him how to use healing items. That could be helpful. ...Aw, crap. We should've gotten another bag of ice for him before heading in here." He hears Chie snort. "...What?"</p>
<p>Chie grins at him. "It's just... you sound exactly like Souji did when we first came here, with the ice and the pinwheels."</p>
<p>Yosuke's face scrunches up. "...And we both thought he was nuts. I guess now we're nuts too."</p>
<p>"Welcome to the crazy club." Souji walks up to them with an amused smile. "You guys ready to go?"</p>
<p>"Heck yeah!" Chie slams her fist into her palm. "Let's go save Yukiko!"</p>
<p>"Lead the way, Ted."</p>
<p>"Aye-aye, Sensei!"</p>
<hr/>
<p>Souji bites his lip to avoid saying anything while the others speculate about Yukiko's shadow. He has only met her two or three times, he reminds himself. He can't know anything about Yukiko and what she's secretly struggling with.</p>
<hr/>
<p>A couple hours of dungeon diving later, three tired highschool students and a bear costume stumble back to the entrance to the TV World.</p>
<p>"Remember to take off your armor and stuff before leaving. I'm gonna stare at this corner for a few minutes, you two can leave without me if you want." Souji starts walking towards the corner he indicated.</p>
<p>Yosuke stares at him. "Uh, what? Why?"</p>
<p>"No reason. Actually, if anyone wants to talk to me, now's the time, 'cause I'm not going to be responding while I'm in this corner."</p>
<p>Yosuke and Chie continue their tradition of exchanging confused glances. Teddie joins in. "Um... I think we're good." Chie decides.</p>
<p>"Cool, see you guys tomorrow." True to his word, Souji walks into the corner and stares into space.</p>
<p>"...Alright then. See ya later, Ted." Yosuke exits the TV, with Chie behind him.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Welcome to the Velvet Room."</p>
<p>Souji blinks a few times to adjust as he appears in the Velvet Room. Wait a second. There's one too many people in here. "You're new."</p>
<p>"I would like to introduce a new resident of the Velvet Room, who will be helping you on your journey." Margaret looks towards the girl sitting across from her. "...Marie?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I can here you." She grumbles. "Nice to meet you."</p>
<p>Souji feels a little confused. It's always been just Igor and Margaret here, this is new... Hang on. "Didn't I meet you at the train station?"</p>
<p>"...Huh?" Marie looks taken aback. "Ohhh... Maybe. That'd explain why you're so familiar. Hmmm..." She looks at Souji closely for a moment.</p>
<p>Margaret is starting to look slightly exasperated. It's something Souji's never seen from her before. "Excuse her. This is Marie. Her soul is still very young and-"</p>
<p>"Shut up! Don't tell him any more about me than you need to." She fidgets in her seat and scowls. Souji decides he likes Marie.</p>
<p>"...As you can see." Margaret goes on to explain that Marie will be helping him with Skill Cards, which are those cards he'd been getting from defeated shadows. Sweet.</p>
<p>Souji hands Marie all the skill cards he'd already collected and gets back to fusing personas like he'd intended to.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Wednesday, April 20</strong> </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>After School</strong> </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>The sound of rattling chains echoes through the hallways of the fourth floor.</p>
<p>Souji freezes in place as the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Uh... Hey Ted?"</p>
<p>"Yes sensei?" Teddie shuffles closer to huddle next to Souji.</p>
<p>"Do you... know what that sound is?"</p>
<p>"I-It's the Reaper! It's on this floor!"</p>
<p>"The WHAT is on this floor?!" Yosuke yelps behind them.</p>
<p>"Teddie, what's the Reaper?" Souji asks in a steady voice, despite his racing heartbeat.</p>
<p>"T-The Reaper is a <em>beary</em> powerful shadow! I've only seen it once before- I always run away when I hear it rattling..." Teddie clutches Souji's jacket with one paw and looks at him with wide eyes.</p>
<p>"Okay. How do we avoid it? Will it follow us to the next floor?"</p>
<p>"I-I don't <em>think</em> so..."</p>
<p>"Okay. Let's look for the stairs. Stick together- worse comes to worse I'll use a Goho-m to warp us out if we need to."</p>
<p>Yosuke and Chie nod nervously.</p>
<p>They make it to the next floor without incident. Everyone sighs in relief when the rattling stops.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Thursday, April 21</strong> </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>After School</strong> </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>Souji re-joins the basketball team.</p>
<p>"Alright guys, listen up. You have a new teammate! You all know Souji Seta, right?" The P.E. teacher rambles at the basketball team. "He's from the city, so I'm sure he's got some moves he's just waiting to show off! I'd say this season is in the bag! I'm even thinking about making him the captain!" Souji tries not to sigh.</p>
<p>Kou walks up after practice and introduces himself. Souji feels like he's dying inside a little as he pretends to meet him and Daisuke for the first time. Re-introductions are probably the worst part of all this, it makes him feel like an intruder in his own life.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Friday, April 22</strong> </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>After School</strong> </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Arrrgh!" Chie goes to kick a wall, but stops herself before she hits it. "What's with these stupid teleporting hallways?! Every time we get close to a door, we end up somewhere else!"</p>
<p>"Tell me about it." Yosuke groans. "Is anyone else getting dizzy?"</p>
<p>"I am!" Teddie exclaims and raises his paw a little too enthusiastically. He overbalances and falls over. "Ack! Sensei! Heeeelp!"</p>
<p>Souji walks over and hauls Teddie upright. What was the trick to this place again...? "Let's try walking <em>away</em> from the doors."</p>
<p>Yosuke looks at the door ahead of them and shrugs. "...Worth a shot I guess."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Why are all the doors locked?!"</p>
<p>"I hate this floor."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Maybe THIS door will open." Yosuke stomps over to the latest door.</p>
<p>"Wait wait wait!" Teddie runs up to the front of the group and Yosuke pauses with his hand on the handle. "I can sense a beary powerful shadow behind that door!"</p>
<p>"...Like the Reaper, or...?" Yosuke asks.</p>
<p>"Oh, no, nothing like the Reaper. But it's more powerful than anything you've fought yet!" Teddie pauses to think. "Well, maybe Chie-chan's shadow..." He trails off. "It's hard to tell, you guys have gotten stronger."</p>
<p>"So, mini-boss level then." Souji suggests. He vaguely remembers this fight. "How's everyone holding up? Magic levels?"</p>
<p>"I'm doing pretty good I think... just over half left?" Yosuke frowns. "I'm not quite sure how to explain it, Jiraiya's not helping."</p>
<p>"Um, I think I'm good too. Not much has been weak to ice so far." Chie shrugs.</p>
<p>"Alright." Souji cracks open a can of TaP. "Give me a minute, and we'll go in."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Senri!" Agi blasts forward towards the Avenger Knight from across the room. Yosuke watches it dissipate against the Red Wall the Knight put up at the last second. Souji starts making a series of frustrated growling noises.</p>
<p>Yosuke's eyes widen and he darts away from the Knight's lance with the help of the Sukukaja spell currently lighting up his feet. "Garu!" Jiraiya blasts the floating shadow off course, and Tomoe charges in with her spear. Yosuke lets out a breath.</p>
<p>"...suke! Yosuke!" Yosuke turns to see Teddie waving at him. "Sensei and Chie-chan need healing!"</p>
<p>"Wha-" Yosuke whirls back towards the fight and sure enough, his teammates aren't doing great. Chie is almost doubled over and holding her side. "Son of a- Dia!" Jiraiya turns to heal Chie before heading towards Souji. "Why didn't they say anything?!" The agility boost from Sukukaja runs out just as the Avenger Knight turns towards Yosuke again. He barely has time to make an alarmed squeak before he's colliding with a wall.</p>
<p>The Avenger Knight towers over him. "J-Jiraiya!" Yosuke coughs out from the floor. Jiraiya helps Izanagi knock the Knight away from him as Teddie runs over.</p>
<p>"Yosuke! Here, let me help!" Teddie pulls out a small glowing rock and concentrates. Yosuke blinks in surprise as he's suddenly able to breathe properly again.</p>
<p>"Thanks Ted!" Yosuke gives him a brief nod before casting Sukukaja again and dashing back into the fight.</p>
<p>"Go get 'em, Yosuke!" Teddie calls out behind him, and Yosuke grins to himself. Then he has a mini heart attack when he spots Souji on the floor in front of the Avenger Knight while Izanagi struggles to hold it back.</p>
<p>"Sonic Punch!" Jiraiya launches forward and tackles the Knight away from Souji as Yosuke runs up to him. "Come on, get up!" Souji grabs his hand and Yosuke pulls him to his feet. "Don't scare me like that!"</p>
<p>Yosuke misses the brief bewildered look Souji gives him as he runs off to help Chie, who probably needs more healing.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Okay... I'm out of magic." Souji leans against a wall and slides down to sit on the floor. Teddie is running around collecting money and shadow parts from the defeated Avenger Knight.</p>
<p>"Wait, really? I've still got at least a quarter of mine left." Yosuke walks over to Chie and casts Dia on her.</p>
<p>"Same." Chie rubs her arm where a cut just vanished. "You mean you're completely out? How does that work?"</p>
<p>Souji rubs his forehead and leans back on the wall. "Well... I've been covering for both electricity and fire attacks all day... and whatever else we needed at the time."</p>
<p>"Oh right, so you've had twice as much work as the rest of us. More or less." Yosuke tilts his head. "...Actually, that's kind of impressive you made it last this long."</p>
<p>"If there's one thing I'm good at, it's resource management." Souji gives him a wry smile. "That being said, I think we're probably done for the day."</p>
<p>"Obviously. You're completely out of magic, which means we don't have lightning or fire anymore."</p>
<p>"I've pushed farther with less."</p>
<p>"That sounds pretty reckless, dude."</p>
<p>"We were on a bit of a time crunch. I'm very good at stretching supplies when I have to." Souji sighs and raises his head. "Hey Ted, you ready to go?"</p>
<p>"Yep! I've collected all of the... stuff." Teddie looks down at the coins and bills in his paws in bafflement. "...Is this for eating, or...?"</p>
<p>"No, it's not for eating!" Chie frowns at Teddie while Yosuke helps Souji stand back up.</p>
<p>"Okay, I'm using a Goho-m."</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Saturday, April 23</strong> </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>After School</strong> </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Wait, Chie don't-!"</p>
<p>
  <em>*CRASH*</em>
</p>
<p>"...They reflect physical attacks." Souji finishes weakly as he switches to Valkyrie and Bufus the two Burning Beetles. He and Yosuke quickly finish them off after they've been flipped over.</p>
<p>Yosuke pulls down his headphones. "How'd you know they do that?"</p>
<p>"They left an impression on me the first time I encountered them. Similar to the impression they just left on Chie. You all right there?" Souji crouches down next to Chie, who is still sitting on the floor.</p>
<p>Chie blinks up at him. "I... think so?" </p>
<p>Yosuke reaches down to pull her to her feet, and she stumbles into him a bit. "Woah, there. You sure you're okay?" He looks for some sort of injury.</p>
<p>"Uh..."</p>
<p>Souji frowns. "Chie. Do you feel nauseous at all? Are your ears ringing or is your vision blurry?"</p>
<p>Yosuke looks at him in alarm as Chie answers. "Um... Now that you mention it, my ears are ringing a bit?" She blinks at them a bit more.</p>
<p>Souji examines her eyes for a moment. "...Summon Tomoe for me?"</p>
<p>"Okay." Chie holds out her hand. After a moment Chie frowns, then her card appears and she crushes it. Tomoe appears for a few seconds before fading. "...That's weird. It's being slow."</p>
<p>Souji sighs. "You might have a minor concussion."</p>
<p>"What's a con...cushion? Is Chie-chan all right?" Teddie looks up at them worriedly.</p>
<p>"A concussion is an injury a human can get if they hit their head badly enough." Souji explains. "It makes it hard to think, among other things, and makes it harder to summon a Persona." He turns to Yosuke. "Can you cast Dia?"</p>
<p>"Oh, yeah. Right away." Yosuke summons Jiraiya and casts Dia on Chie. She stops blinking as much.</p>
<p>"That's a bit better." She scowls. "Still doesn't feel right though."</p>
<p>"Concussions are annoying. Dia doesn't work on them as well as cuts and bruises." Souji closes his eyes and frowns. "...Dang it, I don't have anything with Patra right now. Sorry Chie."</p>
<p>"S'all right. What now?"</p>
<p>"What floor are we on? Seven?" Teddie nods at him. "Okay... We may need to leave for the day. I think we're pretty close to Yukiko, but we've already been going for a while and I'd rather not get into a fight with her shadow while one of us is recovering from a concussion."</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Sunday, April 24</strong> </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>After School</strong> </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>It's been another busy week. Souji feels a little less like he's barely staying afloat though. Maybe it's because things have settled back into a routine, and he's no longer the only one who knows what's going on. Chie and Yosuke seem to have just accepted his mysterious backstory, which he is eternally grateful for because it means he doesn't have to pretend to be clueless all the time.</p>
<p>As a bonus, Souji can tell his friends stories about the dumb things they did in the last timeline, and watch them unknowingly call themselves idiots. It's hilarious and strangely cathartic.</p>
<p>Not that it really applies today, since he's hanging out with Kou and Daisuke in Okina City.</p>
<p>"How 'bout you, Souji?" Kou grins at him. "Do you prefer urban places like this to more rural towns like Inaba?"</p>
<p>Souji smiles to himself. "I really like Inaba. It's... been a nice change of pace."</p>
<p>"I guess things move slower out in the country." Daisuke muses. Oh, if only he knew what Souji's schedule has been like since he arrived.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Welcome home, Big Bro!" Nanako smiles at him as he closes the front door behind him. "Did you have a good day?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I had a good day." Souji sits down across from her. "The whole week has been good, actually."</p>
<p>"I'm glad. So you're feeling better now?"</p>
<p>"Huh?" It takes Souji a moment to realize what she's talking about. "Oh, yeah. I'm feeling much better."</p>
<p>Nanako nods. "Good."</p>
<p>Souji settles in to watch TV with Nanako for a while. He pulls out his phone to text Yosuke and Chie.</p>
<p>"We're saving Yukiko tomorrow. Be ready."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Tada! ~Another chapter~</p>
<p>I'm trying to use my current play through of Persona 4 Golden as inspiration, but I can't help but play with my usual ruthless efficiency, which doesn't really fit with Chie and Yosuke's status as newbies. I pushed all the way to the top floor of the castle in one day (I fought Yukiko's Shadow on a different day), which doesn't feel right for this story. Also, I know Burning Beetles don't reflect Physical anymore in Golden, but I liked that scene too much so oh well.</p>
<p>I feel like Yosuke isn't sticking his foot in his mouth often enough. I'm not sure how to intentionally write that in though X)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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